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China Health & Science

Chinese Student Forced to Undergo “Fake Surgery” and Borrow Money While Lying on the Operating Table

The 17-year-old girl from Shaanxi underwent surgery for no reason at all, without her parents’ consent.

Manya Koetse

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The story of a 17-year-old girl who was forced to undergo a “fake surgery” at Shaanxi’s Ankang Xing’an Hospital has gone viral on Chinese social media.

One of the netizens to break the story on social media is the Weibo user @QinguanSihai (@秦观四海, 90,000+ followers), who posted about the incident on October 6.

According to the post, the incident occurred on October 4 when a young woman named Lu went online to seek medical attention because she was not feeling well. Since there was an available spot for a medical consultation at the private Ankang Xing’an Hospital, Lu went to see a doctor there.

While she was at the hospital in the city of Ankang, the woman allegedly was directly taken to the operating room and placed on the operating table after a short consultation; not for a medical examination, but for surgery.

The girl initially thought she was undergoing a routine medical check. As the surgery was already underway, the doctor stopped to let Lu sign some papers and then asked her if she could gather the money to pay for her medical procedure. When Lu protested and demanded to get off the surgery table, the doctor warned her that she was losing blood and that interrupting the procedure would be life-threatening.

Lying on the operating table, Lu called some of her friends to gather the money, all the while being pressured by the doctor that the money she had (1200 yuan/$185) was not enough to cover for the costs of surgery – which was still ongoing. The doctor allegedly even told Lu to get more money via the Alipay ‘Huabei’ loaning app.

Lu’s parents, who were contacted by concerned friends, soon showed up at the hospital as the doctor hastily ended the surgery. The parents, who were furious to discover their underage daughter had undergone a medical procedure without their consent, became even more upset when they later found out that Lu had undergone surgery to remove cervical polyps, while Lu’s medical reports showed that she actually had no cervical polyps at all. No reason could be found for their healthy daughter to have been operated on her cervix.

After Lu’s story went viral on social media, local authorities quickly started an investigation into the matter and soon confirmed that the story was real. An initial statement said that Angkang Xing’an Hospital is at fault for performing surgery on a minor without the consent of a guardian or parent. It was also recognized that the hospital has committed serious ethical violations. The hospital, located on 78 Bashan Middle Road (巴山中路), is now temporarily closed, and the doctor in question has since been fired.

Many Chinese netizens are angered about the incident, calling private hospitals such as Ankang Xing’an a “disgrace” to China’s healthcare industry.

This is by no means the first time that malpractices at Chinese local hospitals or clinics trigger online controversy. Various incidents that previously went viral show how some clinics put commercial interests above the health of their patients, and how some doctors think they can get away with abusing and scamming their patients.

In 2016, the death of the 21-year-old cancer patient Wei Zexi (魏则西) sparked online outrage. Wei Zexi, who shared his medical experiences on social media, spent 200,000 RMB to receive contested form of immunotherapy at the Beijing Armed Police Corps No. 2 Hospital (武警二院). The treatment, that was promoted on China’s leading search engine Baidu, was actually completely ineffective and the advertising for it was false.

By now, one hashtag relating to the Ankang incident has received over 270 million views on Weibo (#官方通报无病女生被推上手术台#), with other relating hashtags also circulating on social media (#家属回应无病女学生被迫手术#, #无病女学生被推上手术台涉事医院停业整顿#).

“This can’t be a real hospital, right?!” some worried netizens write, with others expressing the hopes that the medical institution will be severely punished for their wrongdoings.

By Manya Koetse

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.

©2021 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 Food & Drinks

Japanese Restaurant in Shanghai Faces Backlash for Offering “Anti-Radiation” Meals

Amidst the panic surrounding Fukushima, this Shanghai-based Japanese-style restaurant ventured into a new business approach.

Manya Koetse

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Since August 24th, when Japan started the release of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima power plant into the ocean, a myriad of related topics have surged across Chinese social media platforms.

The dissemination of news concerning the Fukushima wastewater discharge, amplified by Chinese media outlets, has sparked considerable unrest in various ways.

Among these is the phenomenon of salt hoarding. There have been dozens of posts on Weibo showing extreme examples of people stockpiling salt. In some places, people queued for up to an hour to buy salt while early-bird shoppers left stores with heavily laden shopping carts.

China also saw instances of salt hoarding in 2011, just after the tsunami and Fukushima disaster. Some people equate ‘salt’ to ‘sea salt’ and they are concerned that salt stocks could potentially become contaminated due to the Fukushima wastewater. But there is also a general belief that salt consumption could provide protection against exposure to radioactivity.

Nonetheless, regular table salt does not actually provide protection against radiation, and consuming excessive amounts of iodized salt could potentially pose health risks on its own.

While scientists and critics find the recent panic to be unfounded – emphasizing that Japan’s actions fall within the safety limits of the Atomic Energy Agency and that the environmental impact is minimal, – a prevailing skepticism toward Western powers combined with official media boosting news concerning the discharge of radioactive water, ensures that Fukushima-related fears and misconceptions remain pervasive.

The concerns surrounding Fukushima have already had negative consequences for many business owners in China, especially for some Japanese-style restaurant owners who felt the need to change their theme, change their name, or explicitly state that their ingredients are not actually coming from Japan.

Meanwhile, there are also some who are trying to capitalize on the situation for profit.

One Japanese-style restaurant in Shanghai’s Hongqiao recently starting offering a so-called “anti radiation” set meal (“防辐射”套餐). The set meal, which was first introduced on online platform Dianping, included ingredients such as tomatoes, edamame, tofu, and spinach.

The Japanese restaurant introduced the menu on the 25th, a day after Japan started discharging the first batch of wastewater into the ocean. While various Chinese media write that there is no scientific basis for the radiation-blocking effects of these foods, the restaurant stated they no longer use any products from Japan and that ingredients used are all sourced locally.

According to various news posts, the restaurant compiled the menu through research and seeking advice from a nutritionist. The restaurant also associated each dish with particular benefits, including claims of “reducing skin damage” or “stimulating cell growth.”

But soon after the restaurant had put their anti-radiation menu online, it became a big topic of discussion, with one related hashtag on Weibo getting over 140 million views (#上海一日料店上架防辐射套餐#).

“Of course, the next step is to make a quick buck by pushing anti-radiation products,” one popular comment said (using the phrase gē jiǔcài 割韭菜, ‘harvesting chives,’ also explained in our latest newsletter).

Other people wondered why one would order such a menu if you might as well cook the exact same things at home. “Why would I pay 28 yuan for tomato with seasoning?”

Meanwhile, Chinese media outlets, citing legal experts, focused more on the legal problems surrounding the menu, suggesting that making false claims is against the law.

Following the controversy, the restaurant has now pulled its menu offline.

Nonetheless, the restaurant won’t be the first or the last business owner to profit from Fukushima fear and anger. While some are selling anti-radiation tablets, others are selling t-shirts with slogans opposing Japan’s decision to discharge the wastewater.

T-shirt sold on Taobao opposing the “ocean dumping” of Fukushima wastewater (screenshot via Whatsonweibo).

On Weibo, local authorities and media accounts are cautioning consumers against purchasing ineffective products that offer no protection against radiation exposure, reiterating that buying loads of salt will not help either.

By Manya Koetse

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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 Health & Science

Confirmed Case of Monkeypox in Liaoning (Updated: and in Changsha, Tianjin)

After hearing about a reported monkeypox case, some netizens think it’s time to dust off their disinfectant again.

Manya Koetse

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A suspected case of Mpox (monkeypox) reported in Shenyang, Liaoning, has become a top trending topic on Chinese social media this week.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the results of local lab tests, giving a positive result for the monkeypox virus.

The case was first reported on June 29th and official diagnosis with the monkeypox virus was confirmed on July 3rd.

The patient is currently undergoing isolation treatment in a designated medical institution, and their condition is stable.

Monkeypox (Mpox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It is characterized by symptoms such as a skin rash or ulcers, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with infected individuals, contaminated materials, or infected animals.

On Chinese social media, there is a significant concern expressed by many individuals regarding a possible outbreak of Mpox. People are seeking information on preventive measures to avoid contracting the virus and expressing their strong desire for the virus to remain distant from them. After experiencing the impact of the Covid pandemic for years, another virus outbreak is the last thing people want to encounter or hear about.

“Retreat! Fetreat! Retreat!” meme posted on Weibo in response to the monkeypox case in Liaoning.

“Do not come over” meme.

“This is still an issue that needs to be taken seriously because once the first case emerges, there may be subsequent cases,” one commenters says: “It requires the collective efforts of various local departments to thoroughly control and contain it from spreading any further.”

“When I see this kind of news, I silently pick up my face mask, take my Vitamine C, and take out my dusty disinfectant again,” another person writes.

During May 2022, an outbreak of monkeypox was identified in the United Kingdom. Two months later, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the outbreak as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” As of March of the current year, over 113 countries had reported a cumulative total of 86,516 confirmed cases. However, in May, the WHO declared the global health emergency to be concluded.

At the time of this global outbreak, there was some controversy when a chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention warned locals against touching foreigners to avoid getting infected. This happened a day after the first case in China was detected in September of 2022.

Update July 8: Another case of mpox went trending on Chinese social media on Saturday, this time it concerns a case detected in Tianjin.

On July 6th,the suspected case of monkeypox was reported. The Chinese Center for disease Control and Prevention later confirmed the case through testing. The patient is undergoing isolation treatment in a designated medical institution, and their condition is stable.

On Weibo, the hashtag “Case of Monkeypox Detected in Tianjin” (#天津发现一例猴痘#) attracted over 150 million views on Saturday. On Friday, three new cases of monkeypox in Changsha also attracted attention on social media (#长沙发现3例猴痘病例#).

“Why do I feel like this is 2019?” some people write, seemingly concerned about another major outbreak. Nevertheless, the way of contracting monkeypox is vastly different and not comparable to Covid, as it mostly spreads through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact (or mouth-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth). People who have contact with clothing, bedding, towels, objects, electronics, and other surfaces that have been touched by someone with monkeypox are also at risk.

 
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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