April 8 – April 14
The Beijing premiere of Django Unchained was abruptly halted one minute into the showing, and then we learned that it was pulled from theaters across the country. Asian TV stations confused the late Margaret Thatcher for Queen Elizabeth II and Meryl Streep, writes Pete DeMola, who also compiled Thatcher’s top five China moments.
Bird flu has infiltrated Beijing, but don’t worry, just take some ban lan gen! A PLA senior colonel accused the US of manufacturing H7N9 avian influenza as a weapon to keep China down. Here’s chengguan chasing chickens.
Meanwhile, nearly 300 kilograms of dead fish were dredged out of a Shanghai river. A Chinese girl in an anti-Japanese drama stripped completely naked to salute soldiers for some reason, writes Xiao Yi. The business paper 21st Century Business Herald fell for another piece of satire.
Speaking of satire, watch the Daily Show’s report on North Korea and its follow-up China segment. Forced sterilization in Hubei resulted in a woman’s death, writes Sarah Hansen. Chris Clayman brought us the tale of TV host Du Haitao’s physical confrontation with a fan. And Allison Reibel reviewed Finding Mr. Right, which is basically Sleepless in Seattle in Chinese.
Mark Dreyer wrote about Guan Tianlang, China’s golfing prodigy and the youngest player to ever tee off at the Masters. Zou Shiming won his much-hyped professional boxing debut. A university student was killed when a basketball hoop fell on top of him.
Robert Downey Jr. was in Beijing last weekend and said lots of complimentary things about China. A Chengdu man got a bit carried away with the attractive female statues on a shopping street. A Changsha foreigner was beaten for allegedly raping a woman.
Great Leap Brewing hosted a chili cook-off. It’s reviewed here.
Comment of the Week:
terroir, on 300 kilograms of dead fish dredged from Shanghai waterway:
“illegal blast fishing”
China: Where only the mobile app game “Ridiculous Fishing” only dares to hint at the truth.
