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Money, Money, Money: General Xu Caihou’s House Filled With Cash & Jade

Xu Caihou became a target within Xi Jinping’s war on corruption earlier this year. Xu confessed to taking bribes in October this year – today his possessions were confiscated.

Manya Koetse

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Trending on Sina Weibo today is the confiscation of criminal possessions of top retired general Xu Caihou (徐才厚) (#徐才厚家被查抄#). Xu Caihou became a target within Xi Jinping’s war on corruption earlier this year, when the former vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission became a suspect of corruption. Xu confessed to taking bribes in October this year (Armstrong&Jiang 2014).

Xu’s house is located on Beijing’s Fucheng Lu (Haidian district). The military that arrived at his house to seize illegal possessions found that the 2000 square meter mansion contains a metric ton of money in cash, and piles of jades, Chinese antiques and arts. Over ten trucks had to be used to transport all of the possessions.

Netizens have responded to the discovery of Xu’s valuables with disbelief. “If the country’s finances are ever tight, I know a good way to solve any financial crisis,” says one netizen on Weibo: “A large-scale anti-corruption campaign would immediately solve any financial problems” (画上句点 #徐才厚家被查抄# 如果国家财政紧张,化解财政危机有个好办法,大规模的反腐,我相信,多搜几家财政危机自解.) 

Over the past year, President Xi Jinping has stressed the Party’s “zero tolerance” approach towards corruption in the government and military.

References

Armstrong, Paul and Steven Jiang. 2014. “China’s biggest ‘military tiger’ Xu Caihou confesses to taking bribes.” CNN, 29 Oct. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/29/world/asia/china-corruption-general-xu-caihou/ (Accessed Nov 20, 2014).

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

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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:

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

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