Take note: if you go on a slashing rampage in public, you’ll be shot and treated like a rabid dog, held down by metal poles. Take a look at the video, which shows police manhandling a knife-wielding suspect who wounded six passersby yesterday at Guangzhou Railway Station.

Initial state media reports said four people were involved in the attack, but as Reuters reports, “Guangzhou police said their initial inquiry found there was just a single suspect. He had been shot and wounded.”

Xinhua news agency said that the attacker had been hospitalized, and that police were not immediately able to identify him as he had no documents on him.

State television said that reports police had picked up another suspect near the station were also wrong, and that a person who had been detained had nothing to do with the case.

The area has returned to normal, reports the Guardian:

The area was back to normal by Tuesday night, though one armed policeman could be seen near the spot where the man struck and others wore helmets and bulletproof vests. A security guard carried a large U-shaped metal implement on the end of a long pole, of the kind given to guards to incapacitate attackers following previous stabbing incidents in China.

Meanwhile, fears of extremism are again on the forefront of everyone’s minds. Last Wednesday, a knife and bomb attack at a Urumqi train station wounded 79 and killed one civilian. On March 1, 29 were killed and 130 injured in Kunming Railway Station. And last October, an SUV exploded in Tiananmen in what was described as a suicide attack.

Reuters again:

Speaking while on a visit to Hong Kong, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel expressed “horror, outrage and sympathy” at the attack.

“We oppose terrorism in all forms, and in those instances where the available information or the information shared by the Chinese authorities pointed to terrorism by a group or individual, we have condemned it as terrorism,” he said.

Six people were injured by knife-wielding attackers around 11:30 am today on the plaza in front of Guangzhou Railway Station. They’ve been sent to the hospital, but their conditions are unknown. A People’s Daily tweet from 12:54 pm claims there were four attackers. State media reports that police fired shots at the attackers, hitting at least one of them.

The pictures that appear here are via Hexun and social media. More info as it becomes available.

This is the third attack on a Chinese train station since March, and the second in the past seven days. Last Wednesday, three were killed and 79 wounded in an attack reportedly by religious extremists at South Railway Station of Urumqi (two of the dead were apparently suicide bombers). On March 1, knife-wielding assailants, later identified as Xinjiang separatists, killed 29 civilians and injured 130 others in Kunming Railway Station.

UPDATE, 3:34 pm: A gentleman surnamed Yang witnessed both the March 1 Kunming attack and today’s attack in Guangzhou. As Nandu reports, he had just arrived from Kunming to Guangzhou via train K366 this morning when a young man in a white cap brandished a knife and lunged toward him. He ran. Two hours later, he was “paralyzed” on the plaza, dazed and not sure what to do.

UPDATE, 5/7, 1:21 pm: More on Yang, via The Nanfang:

When interviewed by Nanfang Metroplis Daily afterwards, Yang said: “I don’t know why I am so unfortunate. On that day (of the Kunming attack), I was seeing my friend off at the train station when I heard people saying someone was attacking people. Today, just as I walked out the station, the same thing happened again.” The attack was so traumatic that Yang ran and hid in a branch of the China Post located in the west corner of the station. Yang sat there for two hours before he recovered. “I saw the attacker slash a man’s neck. The man covered the wound with his hands, but it was dripping with blood,” Yang recalled.

Also, here’s a video of police subduing the attacker (apparently only one, not four):

Here it is! What, you weren’t also waiting for images and videos from this year’s Guangzhou Sex and Culture Festival, which began Friday and ended Sunday?

How does the 11th edition of China’s biggest erotic trade fair compare to years past? Take a look. Decidedly less pole dancing — or maybe it was just be digitally underrepresented this year.

How’s it to be the cynosure of all eyes, an object of desire? Surrounded by lonelyhearts and those deaf-mute to the exigencies of the body. What we want is what we want. Is that why their gazes remain cold, as a gift, Ms. Medusa in obverse, for one glance would set you hot with the distemper of infatuation? Love? What of it? Is that why they frown, the weight of unspoken words tugging at the corners of their being like a black moon?

There’s a bonus video at the end of this post. The sources for the below images: People’s Daily (1-4), NetEase (5), zgmcxw.com (6-7), Corbis (8), City Weekend (9), Sina (10-12).

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Scenes from the Foshan Sex and Culture Festival are below. They’re significantly more risque. Blame it on the camerawork.

It’s no Thai ping pong show, but still NSFW, obviously.

Here’s a great idea for a souvenir. Counterfeit ID cards of world leaders – Barack Obama, Vladmir Putin, Kim Jung-un, and (of course) Osama Bin Laden (who I suppose doesn’t fall into this “world leader” category, but bear with me) — have recently appeared on the streets of Guangzhou, according to Sina. Counterfeiting, kitsch, and absurdity: a perfect memento of China. Go buy one now, Guangzhou folks.

(H/T Alicia)

On the morning of Saturday, February 9, an American named James suddenly collapsed at the Liede station of Guangzhou Metro Line 5. The video of the incident was just made available, which you can watch above.

A subway attendant, Zhang Jie, supported James’s head while her colleague rubbed his chest. He remained unresponsive for a minute, at which point, while waiting for rescue personnel to arrive, Ms. Zhang began performing CPR. She said he remained unresponsive until after her third attempt, when he let out a breath of air.

A few minutes later, James was breathing on his own. He was sent to hospital, where he made a full recovery.

At the end of the newscast above, James says those who rescued him were like “angels,” and thanks them.

The “Most Beautiful” moniker is often applied to Good Samaritans in China who catch the public’s eye, and is not gender specfic. See: Most Beautiful Nurse, Most Beautiful 90s-General Rail Cop, Most Beautiful Bus Driver. Welcome to the club, Zhang Jie.

China’s air travel bubble is bringing out its fair share of violent characters, many with the burning desire to take out their frustration on airport personnel. January saw riots at Kunming’s new Changshui Airport, and a month later, CPPCC delegate Yan Linkun lost his cool.

So what’s new in airport violence? See: Guangzhou gate agent in the fetal position.

On February 20, two passengers impatiently waiting on a delayed flight from Melbourne beat and kicked a gate agent to the ground (via Adam Minter for Bloomberg). Not much else is known about the incident, save the image of an undeserved beating that flared up on Sina Weibo.

欣Hidden：Why is it mainly us who get injured?

巴伐利亚的：There’s no justice!

It’s one thing to destroy property, and another to harm an attendant who holds no responsibility for your flight woes. You wouldn’t beat up the mailman for delivering your expensive utility bill (a few expletives are fine, for the record). While we all wait for details on what brought on the beating, someone should grab angry travelers by the shoulders and shout, “Welcome to air travel, dudes! Expect things to not always go your way!”

There’s hope that the end of Spring Festival will bring reliable travel, and with that, cooler heads. Given that, such thugs will likely make annual appearances. Our thoughts and prayers go out to airport service people everywhere (yes, that includes the attendants who had to deal with Anthony Bordain and a guy who couldn’t contain himself).

Chris tweets @chrisclayman, keeps a Tumblr.

On today, Learn From Lei Feng Day, let us remember someone who gives the moniker “Lei Feng” actual meaning.

On March 1, a tourist fell into the Pearl River in Guangzhou while taking pictures. Police officer Zheng Yilong, who happened to be passing by, dove into the water after him and managed to corral him to shore. You can watch part of the dramatic rescue in the video above. But while people pulled the tourist to safety, officer Zheng drifted way from their grasp, and disappeared underwater. His body has yet to be found.

The tourist, surnamed Chen, blames himself for the officer’s death. You can see him sobbing during his interview from a local hospital. It’s hard to not get a little emotional while watching.

The Nanfang has more on this story:

This story has melted even the most cynical hearts on the Chinese blogosphere. One Sina Weibo user said: “Bring this hero back safely.” Another said “I believe he will be okay.” Another said, “Let us wish good luck upon good people,” while many more lit candles.

We hope for the best for all parties involved. These type of stories are always the saddest, because the good ones never seem to get the attention they deserve until it’s too late.

Huh. A man tried to check in a bag containing a real human leg, Guangzhou Daily reported on Tuesday. Unfortunately for him, the leg was spotted in the X-ray scan, and was seized by airport security.

“There are restrictions for transporting human organs by air,” reads the second part of the GZ Daily headline.

Midday yesterday (February 25), Baiyun Airport security personnel, to their great shock, discovered via screening that a traveler on his way to Chongqing had a human leg in his carry-on. Only after inquiry did they learn that this was the traveler’s own amputated leg; since local afterlife customs dictate a corpse be intact, he was bringing his stump home. But a hospital representative said hospitals usually don’t permit a person to take away his own limb. Because the traveler was unable to produce a hospital certificate, the limb was not permitted onboard.

The man, Mr. Huang, had stored his leg in a big icebox, which also — we presume — violates the regulation on maximum liquid volume.

Airport security said that according to regulations, passengers must obtain prior consent from the airport to transport body parts or living specimens, and must have the proper certificates from the hospital. Mr. Huang’s leg was not allowed because he lacked the paperwork. “I’ve been doing security check for many years, and I’ve never encountered something like this before,” said an airport employee.

There’s good news though: the airport, which obviously has no use for a leg, reportedly will mail the limb to Mr. Huang’s relatives. So now, the next question: what are the relevant regulations for sending a human body part via post?

We imagine the airport folk wiping their hands together, then splaying their fingers in the air. Buck passed. Problem solved.

We do hope Mr. Huang eventually receives his leg in one piece, though. And considering the strangeness of this story, we have to say it seems all parties handled themselves admirably.

POSTSCRIPT: We owe Brian Glucroft a beer for the headline pun, and Adam Minter for the story tip.

@adamminter @beijingcream “Guangzhou Airport Security Stumped Again”

— Brian Glucroftさん (@BrianGlucroft) 2013年3月2日

UPDATE: Also see: The Nanfang on this same subject.

Two stories along the same theme here, both from SCMP’s Amy Li. We’ll start with Jackie Chan, who was seen walking toward a black Audi with military license plates. We’re not sure when the picture was taken, but its publication on Sina Weibo has caused the predictable spate of online outrage.

“Has our military hired Jackie Chan to teach soldiers martial arts?”, said Yu Jianrong, an avid online activist and  researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“This is obviously a movie prop,” commented another blogger sarcastically on Weibo.

“Will Jackie Chan please use his martial arts to reclaim the Diaoyu Islands?” said another.

Many demanded Chan to offer an explanation.

“This has almost destroyed my admiration for him,” wrote a fan.

It should be noted that Chan could have been using fake military plates, which might somehow exonerate him?

But the more interesting story — if you ignore the fact that Jackie Chan is somewhat of a walking ball of amusement – is this second story out of Guangzhou. First, the video:

That’s “Uncle Ou,” which SCMP reports is “a retired Guangzhou resident famous for his campaign to disclose abuses of official cars.” He really, really hates it when civilians ride in military vehicles, and he’s not afraid of looking like a grumpy gramps — the video has nearly 30,000 views so far on Youku — to express his opinion.

“Why do you use military car to drive your wife?,” Uncle Ou is heard to ask bluntly in the video. “Please answer me.”

“Is this how you abuse tax payers’ money?” Ou said.

We enjoy the expression on this woman, which, to be fair, is exactly how a normal person would react if a belligerent old man began filming himself ranting at your face.

Anger after Jackie Chan caught using military car in Beijing (SCMP)
Video: Man berates soldier for giving civilian a ride in military car (SCMP)

This raises a very, very important question: does poop really belong in the “recyclable” side of the trash bin? Biodegradable isn’t the same as recyclable, is it?

At least he’s not doing it inside a subway carriage.

(Sina Weibo user @粤语最盏鬼, h/t Will Crook)

UPDATE, 7:28 pm: Mr. Crook sends this along: it appears that Guangzhou Metro has posted on its official Sina Weibo account the locations of bathrooms throughout the subway network. “Hurry and pass this to your nearby friends,” it writes.

It manages to avoid all mentions of what’s happening in the picture above. Well played, Guangzhou Metro.

For the first time in more than 20 years, according to SCMP, a major newspapers’s editorial staff in China has gone on strike to protest government censorship.

They were on the streets this afternoon in Guangzhou, outside Southern Weekly’s offices, scattering chrysanthemums and other flowers, periodically chanting for democracy and human rights. It’s been basically peaceful and without incident. The best place to follow all the proceedings is at John Kennedy’s Twitter and live-blog for SCMP.

David Bandurski, who has also been closely following the incident, calls it “without a doubt one of the most important we will witness in China this year.”

But is this really a watershed moment for media rights in China, as some hope, or merely a campaign to remove one official, Tuo Zhen? That is to say, even if Tuo resigns as provincial minister of propaganda, what is our expectation that the next guy will be better? Will Southern Weekly be allowed a seat at the hiring table? What systemic change in procedure or oversight will placate our desire for “reform”? Has this become an issue of free speech, riding the swell of excitement of everyday people mingling with journalists on the streets, or will we return to our jobs soon and let the more vested parties enter negotiations on the future of both Tuo Zhen and Southern Weekly?

While we’re on the subject, let’s not forget about the liberal magazine Yanhuang Chunqiu, whose website was shut down on Friday (officials say because its registration ran out, and not at all due to its latest cover story on constitutional reform). Ian Johnson offers some perspective on NY Times:

Optimists say they hope the measures against the two publications were the result of recalcitrant officials appointed by the departing team of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, whose decade in power was marked by an overriding desire for stability. Many members of Mr. Xi’s team will not take office until the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in March, and it could take years for Mr. Xi to put allies into important positions of power.

“If Xi does not remove people and promote some officials, his new policies — if he has any — will be sunk by the old people,” said a senior editor at a top party newspaper who asked to remain anonymous because of the delicacy of the subject. “The conflicts between the old and the new have just emerged.”

Outgoing leaders doing all they can – all they can — to make sure their legacy isn’t tarnished in these next three months, before Xi Jinping officially takes the helm and undos all the damage of the past 10 years?

Stay tuned.

(The above image is via China Digital Times.) POSTSCRIPT, via SCMP:

Previously: Journalists Are Threatening Boycotts, Calling For Protests Over Southern Weekly Incident

Related: Southern Weekly Update: Speeches, Scuffles, Chen Guangcheng, And Acrostics (1/8, 2:51 pm)

Guangzhou subway, what’s up?

Last month, there was a bloody, bloody fight on Line 4. Last week, a boy pooped inside a crowded carriage on Line 3. And two days ago, a train caught on fire on Line 8, forcing passengers to evacuate through a tunnel.

No injuries were reported. The problem was apparently caused by a short circuit in the AC, according to Guangzhou Security Bureau’s microblog. The Nanfang has more details:

Passenger Miss He told Nanfang Daily she heard an explosion and saw that there was a fire between the fourth and fifth carriages.

A member of staff then came and put the fire out with a fire extinguisher before anybody was hurt. A passenger surnamed Peng, who was in the second carriage, said the fire was not big but it burned an LED sign and caused smoke to spread quite far.

Some panicked people — in what appear to be crowded carriages — resorted to smashing windows. The Nanfang again:

There were scenes of panic on the train as some passengers smashed windows and entered the tunnel to escape. Sun, a 41 year-old farmer from Hubei Province, was taking the subway for the first time when he heard the explosion.

More pictures via Sina:

Just before the evacuation, someone whipped out a camera and began filming. Warning: the fire alarm is really annoying in this video:

This is one of those stories that Chinese netizens would probably prefer to keep bottled up within the confines of Chinese social media, considering mainlanders already have a reputation for being shameless when it comes to public defecation.

On Saturday, someone posted onto Sina Weibo a picture of a boy pooping on a crowded Guangzhou subway train. “I was shocked today,” the person wrote. “This is what I saw on Subway Line 3. That’s right, the kid in the corner is defecating. And a really big load!!” Apparently this happened during rush hour with the parents were standing nearby.

People have been flinging the mud ever since. As translated by Ministry of Tofu, some select comments on Weibo:

maymay有只猪：Brain-dead!  A national disgrace!!!

小萱草：I saw this pic on FB (Facebook). The comments are 100% unanimous, saying ‘Not surprising for Chinese’!!!

Wynn：This is truly a matter of education within the family!!!

LL猫猫侠：Was it terribly smelly?

sanzond：This kid is poorly brought up. At 10, he should have understood things. Why didn’t he clean up the poop he left? Even my 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter knows one should not litter in public places.

猫娘_Fan：An ill-bred son is the fault of the father!

月岛免免: what kind of person is he? Worse than dogs! Even my dog knows how to withhold.

可正的老婆：Why do I feel very funny? The young boy looks really serious.

宝宝是只柴犬：With such a parent, the kid is truly worrisome.

We wouldn’t be so quick to castigate the kid, who is reportedly only 10 years old. The incident certainly looks bad, and reflects poorly on those of us who, sitting comfortably right now, believe we could never be rendered so pathetic by untimely bowel movement. But hey, raise your hand if you’ve never, ever pooped in your pants after, say, age eight (when you knew the feeling of shame).

Those with your hands up, stop lying. Unless it’s really true, in which case — listen, hate to break it to you, but karma’s gonna catch up and you shit’s gonna explode, and I sure hope no one nearby has a camera phone when it happens.

Of course, since TV news gets 80 percent of their stories from Weibo these days, the subway defecating boy made TV station news everywhere. Poor kid.

Surely you’ll recall there was a disturbingly bloody subway fight yesterday in Guangzhou involving an elderly man getting the better of a younger combatant despite bleeding from the face. Would you believe, after getting mauled by the elderly man’s teeth, the other man, surnamed Wu, has apologized?

According to the newscast embedded after jump, the reporter says Wu wanted to apologize because apparently he cut in front of the elderly man, then “maliciously” blocked him from the seat. That — and who knows what sharp words — instigated the fight.

Guangzhou Subway’s public security department has also reported via Sina Weibo that the blood you see on the screen is from the old man’s nose. Thank goodness it was not — as might have reasonably be feared — the result of biting, which would have been some seriously messed up vampiric shit. Both men were sent to the hospital. (The same one, with the same waiting room? We can only hope.) Neither suffered serious injury. Guangzhou Subway authorities say the two both expressed regret for their actions, and their desire for mutual forgiveness. What a world.

Police let them both off with a warning.

(Someone put the video on YouTube, which I’ve embedded above. Be warned that it’s liable to get taken down at any instant, because I can’t see how it doesn’t violate that company’s draconian and randomly enforced “Community Policy.”)

This morning on Guangzhou’s Subway Line 4 around Chepi South Station, a man identified as “70-some years old” and another who is “20-some years old” began fighting over a seat. To say things escalated would be an understatement. Neither man would relent, and the result was a bloodbath that sent everyone scurrying.

It’s unclear which of two is bleeding more seriously, but it’s definitely the most brutal and stomach-turning fight we’ve seen since this one at Beijing’s Sanlitun in May. At one point, the old man has the young man pinned against the seat and appears to bite him. When he looks up, his face is smeared with blood, and yeah, it’s way worse than this face-biting in Foshan. (What the hell is is in Guangdong’s water, by the way? Two biting incidents in three days!)

Graphic content. You’ve been warned. Youku video for those in China after the jump. UPDATE, 10/9, 8:25 pm: The blood is apparently from the old man’s nose, and Guangzhou Subway Public Security is reporting the two men are totally cool now.

(H/T @jcr_bojiang)