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14-Year-Old Murder Case Becomes Trending: Chinese PhD Students Hacked to Death by Father over Money

A 2002 Shandong murder case where a father murdered his own daughter and her husband has been brought back to public attention after Chinese writer Chen Lan (陈岚) wrote about it in a recent blog titled ‘Daughter or slave?’

Manya Koetse

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A 2002 Shandong murder case where a father murdered his own daughter and her husband has been brought back to public attention after Chinese writer Chen Lan (陈岚) wrote about it in a recent blog titled ‘Daughter or slave?’

A gruesome 10-year-old murder case has become the talk of the day on Chinese social media after it was mentioned by writer Chen Lan (陈岚) in a Weibo blog post about daughters being treated as slaves.

Zhao Qingxiang (赵庆香) was a PhD student at an American university who was visiting family in her hometown village in China’s Shandong province together with her husband Wei Tao (魏涛) in 2002. During the family visit, they were both hacked to death with an axe by Zhao’s father after an argument about money.

According to the Beijing Morning Post, Zhao and her husband were both hard-working and bright students. Although Zhao was struggling to fund her studies in America, she regularly sent money home to her family in rural China to help them build a house. Zhao and Tao had a child together that was raised by Tao’s parents.

As described by Chen Lan, Zhao’s father disagreed with Zhao’s academic career, and allegedly wanted her to get a job so she could buy a house in her hometown and care for her parents. He did not like her husband, who was also in academics and had two master degrees. Zhao’s only brother was epileptic and unmarried, and Zhao’s father wanted his daughter to move back to her hometown and take care of the family, but more importantly, to give him money to buy a house.

Zhao and her husband traveled from America to the small village in Shandong to visit Zhao’s parents when the discussion about money flared up again. Zhao allegedly explained to her father that she and her husband were in a difficult financial situation. They relied on scholarships and Tao’s parents for money, and were saving up to bring their child back with them to America. They had already sent Zhao’s father money many times, and even gave 1500 US$ during their trip this time.

But the money issue had the father in hysterics, and during the night of March 26, 2002, he came into his daughter’s bedroom with an axe. He first hacked into the forehead of his son-in-law and then killed his daughter the same way.

xinsrc_6550171ff5fe41eb8be2a63b3c500153Zhao’s father, picture from KdNet forum

When he was put on trial for the double murder, he allegedly stated he had “no regrets” about killing his daughter and her husband. He was later sentenced to death.

The news from 2002 has become a trending topic today, with thousands of netizens commenting on the case. As the writer who brought the news story to the surface again titled her blog post “Daughter or Slave?”, netizens mostly discuss the ill-fated role of the daughter, her ambitious career and the pressure she suffered from her family: “It’s really not easy for a village girl to become a doctor,” one netizen writes: “but her father did not agree with it. What a f*cked up tragedy.” “Killing a bright and promising young woman who is loyal to her parents because the son has epilepsy – what a rotten 5000-year-old culture, China.” “This is the situation in China,” one other netizen responds: “No respect for life and no respect for women.”

The original 2002 news story can be found on this Xinhua News page, that also shows the picture of the victims as featured in this article.

– By Manya Koetse

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

Manya Koetse is the founder and editor-in-chief of whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer, public speaker, and researcher (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends, digital developments, and new media in an ever-changing China, with a focus on Chinese society, pop culture, and gender issues. She shares her love for hotpot on hotpotambassador.com. Contact at manya@whatsonweibo.com, or follow on Twitter.

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

Tsingtao Brewery ‘Pee-Gate’: Factory Worker Caught Urinating in Raw Material Warehouse

The pee incident, that occurred at a subsidiary Tsingtao Beer factory, has caused concerns among consumers.

Manya Koetse

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A video 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.

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.”

By Manya Koetse

Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:

Featured photo by Jay Ang (link).

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.

©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China Local News

Streamed Without Realizing: Chinese Village Cadres Suspended after Sex Scene Video Leaks Online

“Village cadres are so hard-working. Besides conducting conferences, they also do live-streaming!”

Manya Koetse

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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.

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#).

By Manya Koetse

Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.

©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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