Let's get this out of the way first: crash-landing on a San Francisco runway seriously damaged Asiana Airlines's reputation.
KTVU, a Bay Area news station, damaged its own reputation by saying the names of Asiana's pilots were "Captain Sum Ting Wong," "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow." If anything, Asiana should be sending KTVU a bouquet for deflecting attention from the real, shitty pilots who flew Flight 214 into the ground. Read more »
The Wall Street Journal revealed on Friday that China's airports are the world's worst for flight delays. "According to FlightStats, which tracks airport statistics, Beijing’s airport ranks dead last among the world’s top 35, with fully 82% of flights failing to leave on time," WSJ reported. "Second worst was Shanghai, at 71%." Numbers, numbers. We could link to a string of posts from our archives with picture and video evidence, but none of it will feel as real as our memories -- after all, we've all experienced the particular nightmare of flying in China. Read more »
Flight delays are frustrating, and if you, in the midst of a four-hour delay, have never allowed yourself to think barbarous, shamefully uncivilized and cruel thoughts, it doesn't make you a better person: you're just that smug asshole everyone always wants to punch.
But no one actually does punch you, and have you ever wondered why? Read more »
Tang Hui, the mother of an 11-year-old kidnapping, rape, and forced prostitution victim, was sent to a reeducation through labor camp last August for daring to raise her voice to say her daugther's rapists got off easy. The decision sparked outrage, and though Tang only served one week of her 18-month sentence, her case may have been the impetus behind proposed reforms to dissolve forced labor camps. Read more »
Citing "extremely bad influences," the police bureau in Tangshan, Hebei province has fired two traffic wardens who were caught on video fighting in an intersection, completely neglecting their job. Read more »
Hundreds of residents staged a not-in-my-backyard protest in Jiangmen, Guangdong province on Friday to oppose plans to build a uranium processing plant. SCMP reports that the protest, a restrained and civil affair, was largely organized via social media. The uranium complex, featuring three 30-hectare plants, would have been the nation's biggest, reports NY Times. Read more »
The biggest building in the world recently opened in Chengdu, China. The New Century Global Center's colossal undulating roof, which I'd been eyeing from my apartment window these past few months, is visible from any high point in the city. I hadn't known what it was until last week, when relatives informed me through a flurry of news articles that it was part of a 1.7 million square-meter complex that is nearly the size of Monaco, and has an artificial sun. Read more »
Lionel Messi endorses WeChat, i.e. Weixin, i.e. the next Sina Weibo, as some people have called it on account of its functionality and interstellar growth. You can send texts for free (pending Internet connection), start group chats, and deliver photos and voice messages. And as Messi demonstrates in the above 30-second ad, you can communicate via video, too -- Instagram, Sina Weibo, and Vine all in one. Read more »
In Xuzhou, Jiangsu, a woman in the waiting hall of the high-speed rail station used one swift punch to take down a thief trying to escape his pursuers. He never saw it coming. Read more »
