China Local News
IKEA Being Sued in China over “Exploding” Drinking Glass
This IKEA glass case is blowing up.
March 15 is not only China’s Consumer’s Day, it is also the day that IKEA was scheduled to go to court in China over an exploding glass.
On May 20, 2017, a woman in Beijing was about to drink cooling boiled water from a ‘Stelna’ IKEA cup when the glass exploded in her face. The woman, whose name is Wang, lost consciousness and was sent to the hospital, where she needed four stitches in her lip. She also broke her front tooth due to the incident.
Wang is now suing IKEA for delivering a “flawed product,” Chinese news outlet The Hour reports on Weibo. She is asking one million yuan (±158,000$) in compensation.
For now, however, the court case has been rescheduled because IKEA reportedly returned the court papers with no response. The Stelna IKEA glasses are also still being sold in its stores.
The ‘exploding’ glass case became a big topic on Weibo on March 15, receiving thousands of comments.
It is not the first time flawed IKEA products make the news. In 2013, the store’s ‘Lyda’ glasses were recalled when at least ten people got injured after pouring hot liquids into it, causing the glass to break.
“My family has also bought IKEA glasses, and they also exploded,” one commenter from Chongqing said: “Luckily, nobody got hurt.”
“I poured boiling water into an IKEA glass the other day to prepare instant noodles in it, and it instantly exploded,” another Weibo user (@宝先生的_太太) wrote.
Other commenters also complain over IKEA products, saying they’ve had things spontaneously breaking too.
Some worried people ask: “Is this just a normal risk of using glass, or does it really have to do with IKEA? Do we have to throw out our glasses now?”
But many netizens are more concerned about the legal aspect of the case. “In America, people can receive compensation [in court] as if they’re the emperor, and in China they cannot even serve court papers!”, some said.
“How is it even possible to ignore court papers?”, others also wondered.
Cases such as this one often make the news on China’s Consumer’s Day (March 15). This year marks the 28th edition of the special day, when an annual consumer rights report is released and a special CCTV program is dedicated to protecting consumer rights and uncovering malpractices by companies.
In November of last year, English-language media also reported about glass IKEA products spontaneously exploding, including glass tables shattering without people being nearby.
In this particular case, the IKEA court case will be postponed to a later date. Sina News wrote that IKEA’s customer relations manager said the company was not aware about the lawsuit until it was very close to the date. The court will resend the legal papers and schedule the case to appear later this year.
By Manya Koetse
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©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
China Local News
World’s Largest Terminal: Spectacular Photos of Beijing’s New Airport
The city’s new international airport will be the biggest one in the world.
Beijing’s new airport, that is expected to open in fall of 2019, is attracting some attention on Chinese social media lately as construction work on the major airport is speeding up.
A 7,200 tons and 404.5-meter-long roof was placed on the airport’s no.1 hangar earlier this week.
The airport is located in southern Beijing in Daxing (大兴区), and is expected to welcome some 72 million travelers per year in the future. The terminal area will cover some 700,000 square meter.
Photo of the upcoming airport posted on Weibo by @永定河孔雀城
According to Sina News, at most 8000 builders are working on the construction site at the same time.
The terminal building was designed by ADPI in collaboration with, amongst other consultants, Zaha Hadid Architects, who are known for their futuristic structures.
The airport is also called the “alien base” (外星人基地) by some netizens due to its extraordinary size and design.
Dozens of photos of the airport construction site are circulating on Weibo.
Photographer Chou Gui (@chougui17) posted a collection of various photos of the upcoming airport on their Weibo account.
Chinese state media propagate Beijing’s Daxing International Airport as being “100% China-made.” Located in the Daxing district of southern Beijing, it will become an important part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster.
You might also like to read: Real-Life Fairy Tale Landscape: Abandoned Fishing Village Houtouwan.
By Manya Koetse
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©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
A brutal case of pet killing has shocked Chinese social media users this week. On September 6, a man from the Shapingba district of Chongqing threw his golden retriever and a pregnant cat from the 21st floor of an apartment building. Both animals died.
Various Chinese media report that the man supposedly committed the cruel act after learning his wife was pregnant and not wanting her to keep pets in the house while expecting. After an argument with his wife, he allegedly threw the pets out of the window.
Shocked neighbors told reporters that the incident occurred around five o’clock on Thursday, when they heard a loud thump and found the animals on the pavement.
Some neighbours recognized the animals, as their own dog would play with the golden retriever. They called the pet owner, who said he no longer wanted anything to do with the dog and the cat. The neighbors, some crying, later gave the dog and cat a respectful burial.
On Weibo, the hashtag “Man Throws Dog and Cat from 21st Floor” (#男子21楼扔下一猫一狗#) was viewed almost three million times.
Animal cruelty often becomes a topic of debate on Weibo. One of the biggest social media trending cases of animal abuse of the past years is that of the dog Lion, who went missing in December of 2017 and was found by a woman named He Hengli who then blackmailed the dog’s owner over its release.
When the ‘hostage negotiations’ reached a deadlock, the dog’s owner finally went to He’s apartment to fetch her dog together with police offers and reporters. While they knocked the door, Lion was thrown to his death from He’s sixth story apartment.
The story of ‘Lion,’ who was killed by the person who held him ‘hostage’, went viral on Weibo in January 2018.
As in many cases in which animal cruelty has been exposed on social media, Lion’s killer became a target of the so-called ‘human flesh search engine,’ with people leaking her personal information online and threatening her at her workplace and home.
Such cases have previously even led to mob justice, with people dragging abusers out of their homes and beating them.
People often resort to this kind of ‘jungle justice’ because China currently has no laws preventing animal abuse. The voices calling for legal protection of animals in China have gotten louder over the past years.
“I just cannot understand these kinds of people’s way of thinking,” one commenter said: “They now throw a dog, what will they throw next time?”
“[If you no longer want your pets], you could just give them away, instead of cruelly throwing them to their death. Also – if someone would’ve walked there, they might have died, too,” others wrote.
Some write: “If someone mistreats an animal it’s a clear sign they’re abnormal maniacs,” with many others worrying about the future child of the pet killer: “He’s surely not fit to be a father.”
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.
©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
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