China Local News
China’s Street Cleaners Left In the Cold
China’s street cleaners work under extreme conditions. The story of one public cleaner has become a trending topic on Weibo. Netizens urge the government to improve the working conditions of their “angels of the road”.
Recent severe weather in Dalian (Liaoning) made the story of a street cleaner one of the trending topics on Sina Weibo (#环卫工吃雪解渴#).
Public cleaner Xiyi Wang and his wife worked for 13 hours to shovel snow on the streets in the freezing cold. The extreme conditions, under which the pair did not have any food or water, led them to quenching their thirst by swallowing snow. The picture became trending on China’s social media after it was published in a Liaoning newspaper (source).
Besides praising the hard work of China’s public cleaners, netizens on Sina Weibo express their sympathy for the bad circumstances under which street sweepers have to work. In Chinese media, street cleaners are often also called “angels of the road” (马路天使). However, their working circumstances are far from heaven. The story of Xiyi Wang only shows the tip of the iceberg.
Public cleaners in China generally work long hours and receive the national minimum pay. Normally there is no workstation for them to take a break or recover from the cold. Hot food or drinks are not provided. Furthermore, working safety is an important issue. Street cleaners are exposed to dangerous situations when cleaning heavy traffic roads. Since the beginning of this month (Dec 2nd, 2014), four street sweepers have been reported dead in road accidents.
Many Sina netizens appeal to the government through social media, asking them to provide a better working environment for street sweepers and improve their social welfare, because, they say, they deserve a better life than this.
– What’s on Weibo, by Fan Bai
China Local News
Children of Hubei Medical Workers to Receive 10 Extra Points on High School Enrolment Examination
Hubei officials announced a controversial measure to reward frontline medical workers.
China Local News
Sudden Ground Collapse at Metro Station in Xiamen
A sudden collapse occurred near Xiamen’s Lucuo station, just two weeks after a similar incident took place in Guangzhou.
First published
In the evening of December 12, Xiamen’s Lvcuo (Lǚcuò 吕厝) metro station became a breaking news topic in Chinese media after a ground collapse incident occurred at a nearby intersection, followed by a major flood in the Xiamen subway.
Xiamen, Fujian Province, is one of China’s major coastal cities. According to Xiamen Metro News, the collapse happened at 21:52 local time.
Ground collapsed at Lvcuo station of Metro Line 2 in Xiamen pic.twitter.com/qrkDsJjsCO
— Chenyu_Liang (@chenyuliang) December 12, 2019
At time of writing, rescue teams are still investigating the scene. It is unclear if people have been trapped or injured due to the collapse.
An apparent dashcam video shared by Sina News and People’s Daily on Weibo shows the moment right before the sudden collapse.
The video captures how the road is relatively busy at the time of collapsing, and at least one car can be seen crashing into the sinkhole.
The moment before it happened pic.twitter.com/fVAxFAgD3s
— Chenyu_Liang (@chenyuliang) December 12, 2019
Other footage shows that the Xiamen metro line is currently flooded (also see video in this tweet).
The scene of the collapse at 0:10 local time.
The metro station where this incident occurred is relatively new. Xiamen’s metro line was first opened in late December 2017.
Just two weeks ago, another major ground collapse accident occurred at the construction site of a metro line in Guangzhou. Three people remain missing after the incident.
On Thursday night local time, the Xiamen metro collapse was the number one trending topic on social media platform Weibo. Many netizens commenting on the incident express worries about the safety of roads and construction sites in China.
Update (Dec 13): According to the latest Chinese media reports, the drivers of two cars who were at the scene at the moment of the ground collapse have both been recused. One female pedestrian who also fell into the sinkhole is receiving medical treatment..
By Manya Koetse
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