A 15-year old Chinese schoolboy forced his mother to get an abortion and threatened to skip his secondary examination if the baby wasn’t aborted.
The Chinese government’s recent announcement to allow families a second child was great news for Mrs Liu. Aged 36, she was ready to have a second baby. She successfully conceived in October last year.
All was going well until Mrs Liu talked to her son, who is currently at junior high, about his soon-to-come sibling. Against all expectations, he instantly rejected the idea of her pregnancy. The 15-year-old boy vehemently protested against his parents having another child, and threatened to abandon the all-important zhongkao (中考), China’s high school enrolment examination, if his mum’s pregnancy went ahead.
Backed into a corner by her son, who even insisted on coming to the operation along with her, Mrs Liu finally aborted the baby.
This is not the first time in China that a child’s angry protests prevent the birth of a second child. Tencent News reported that the doctor who received Mrs Liu, Xiong Li, said: “Like Mrs Liu, there have been many cases where a woman had an abortion because of her eldest child disagreeing with the birth.”
The news story about Mrs Liu and her son triggered thousands of passionate comments on Tencent News, one of the biggest news platforms in China. Most netizens were astonished by the boy’s apparent bloodlessness and cruelty. One netizen made a popular comment: “What a selfish child, he doesn’t know that abortion harms his mother’s body as well as taking away a little child’s right to live!”
Other critical commenters reflected on how China’s new generation is raised and educated. One netizen lamented: “Our current education is so lacking, that’s why there are so many selfish, self-profiting little emperors!” Another went: “This is the tragedy of education, the tragedy of our country. Even children are cold and calculating now!”
However, there were also voices that condoned or even approved of the boy’s action, pointing to the large age gap between the 15-year-old and the aborted child being difficult to swallow. One netizen labelled the parents as “selfish” for contributing to China’s swelling population problem.
Even though China’s netizens have differing views on this story, one thing seems apparent: even though the one-child policy has officially ended, its ghost continues to cast a shadow on the lives of the country’s next generation.
Anna is a UK-based writer and translator who spent her early years in northeast China. She has a passion for the social stories unique to China and is fascinated by historical issues unfolding over the stage of Chinese social media.
Avideo that has circulated on Chinese social media since October 19 shows how an alleged worker at a Tsingtao Beer factory climbs over a wall at the raw material production site and starts to urinate.
The incident reportedly occurred at the Tsingtao Beer Factory No. 3, a subsidiary of the Tsingtao Brewing Company, located in Qingdao, Shandong.
This is the viral video showing how an alleged worker at the Tsingtao Beer Factory 3 climbs over a wall at the raw material production site and starts to urinate. Many people think it's an undercover operation by a rivaling company: one person peed, another leaked the video? 🍻🤢 pic.twitter.com/eJcYljo2aQ
After the video went viral, the Tsingtao Brewery Company issued a statement that they took the incident very seriously and immediately report it to the authorities, who have started an investigation into the case. Meanwhile, the specific batch in production has been halted and shut off.
The incident has caused concern among consumers, and some commenters on social media wonder if this was the first time something like this has happened. “How do we know this hasn’t happened many times before?”
Others speculate about what might have motivated the man to urinate at the production site. There are those who believe that the man is part of an undercover operation orchestrated by a rivaling company, aimed at discrediting Tsingtao. It’s even suggested that there were two ‘moles’ leaking in this incident: one doing the urinating, and the other doing the video ‘leak.’
Meanwhile, there are voices who are critical of Tsingtao, suggesting that the renowned beer brand has not effectively addressed the ‘pee gate’ scandal. It remains uncertain how this incident will impact the brand, but some netizens are already expressing reservations about ordering a Tsingtao beer as a result.
But there are also those who joke about the “pissing incident,” wondering if Tsingtao Beer might soon launch a special “urine flavored beer.”
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Two cadres working in Weicheng District in Shandong Province were suspended this week after an “inappropriate video” that showed them engaging in sexual acts started circulating on Chinese social media.
The two got a bit too cozy together in a meeting room, and the moment allegedly was unknowingly caught on camera after a secretary did not turn the camera off after a video conference.
On October 6, Phoenix News (@凤凰网) reported that the subdistrict office in question denied that such an incident took place in their jurisdiction.
The local Discipline Inspection Commission, however, confirmed that the incident did take place and that the case was under investigation, although they would not confirm which positions the two cadres held. Online, it was claimed that they are a thirty-something male secretary in and a fifty-something female director.
Two officials working at a local subdistrict office are suspended after a leaked video showed them engaging in sexual acts. The secretary allegedly forgot to turn camera off after a team meeting. News says it's not clear what their positions were, but I think it's pretty clear 🫢 pic.twitter.com/eRCX3owLDo
Some Chinese media sources noted that the video in question seems to have been recorded from a security camera system screen, raising questions about whether the two had forgotten about the security cameras, or if they actually forgot to turn off a conference call camera, or if the incident was captured by both the security cameras and the webcam.
On Weibo and other Chinese social media, the incident has caused some banter among netizens.
“At least our Party comrades are now addressing their needs internally without causing harm to society – that could be considered a form of progress,” one popular comment said.
“It’s not bad, it’s just bad that they forgot to turn the webcam off,” others replied.
“Ah, so this is officially what officials do?” others wondered.
“Village cadres are so hard-working. Besides conducting conferences, they also do livestreaming!”
By now, it’s been confirmed by a staff member at the Wangliu St. Office in Weifang that the two individuals involved, both village cadres, have been suspended. They are currently under investigation by the Disciplinary Inspection Committee. By early Saturday, a related hashtag had garnered over 200 million views on Weibo (#两干部流出不雅视频被停职#).
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