Trending searches on Wechat: Fengxian Case; Ukraine; No. 1 central document
Trending searches on Wechat: Fengxian Case; Ukraine; No. 1 central document
The Beijing Winter Olympics has come to an end. We are heading into the week of "two sessions" -- the annual sessions of the national legislature and the national political advisory body. The Ukraine crisis and the “shackled mother” case in Fengxian County have gone viral on social media in these days. Meanwhile, Ginger River is also paying close attention to Hong Kong's battle against the surge of COVID-19 infections.
Today's top 10 trending searches on Wechat:
1. Video clips of "shackled mother" receiving treatment
2. Parliament grants permission for Putin to use force outside Russia
3. Sudden death of employee in ByteDance
4. Beijing reports eight new local COVID-19 cases
5. Online influencer with millions of followers turns out to be member of scam gang in northern Myanmar
6. Former head of China CITIC Bank stands trial for accepting over $154.3 million dollars worth of bribes
7. China unveiled its "No. 1 central document" for 2022
8. Russia to evacuate its diplomats from Ukraine
9. Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council warns against separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence"
10. Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds to whether China will sanction Russia
1. Video clips of "shackled mother" receiving treatment
The Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC) reported that the local health department sent Ms. Yang, the "shackled mother," to the hospital for examination and treatment on January 28. The government arranged personnel and Yang's eldest son to accompany her at the hospital. Suffering from schizophrenia, Yang is under treatment.
Yang in hospital
JSBC’s reporter visits Yang's house
China's Jiangsu Province on Wednesday released the much-anticipated results (My colleague Liu Yang summarized his key takeaways) of an investigation into the case of the shackled mother of eight that determined she had been abducted from her hometown in 1998 and sold at least three times into forced marriages. -- Caixin Global
Seventeen people, including the Party chief of Fengxian, have been held accountable for the alleged woman abuse case in Fengxian County of Jiangsu Province, the provincial authorities said Wednesday. -- Xinhua
2. Parliament grants permission for Putin to use force outside Russia -- AP
3. Sudden death of employee in ByteDance
ByteDance worker dies after collapsing at gym, again raising 996 discussion on Chinese social media -- SCMP
The employee in his late 20s died after an hour-long workout at a company gym, according to an internal memo from the TikTok owner.
The company, China’s most valuable unicorn and the owner of short video platform TikTok, confirmed the authenticity of the documents but did not offer details about the incident.
4. Beijing reports 8 new local COVID-19 cases -- Xinhua
The cases are from the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, Chaoyang District, Tongzhou District, Shunyi District and Xicheng District, according to a press briefing held by the municipal government.
5. Online influencer with millions of followers turns out to be member of scam gang in northern Myanmar
Police of Guiding County of southwest China's Guizhou Province confirmed that the online influencer named “李赛高” "Li Saigao," which had 1.2 million followers on TikTok in China, is a member of a scam gang in northern Myanmar. The online influencer, who claimed to be offspring of China's expeditionary force, sang songs familiar to Chinese netizens to gather popularity.
6. Former head of China CITIC Bank stands trial for accepting over $154.3 million dollars worth of bribes -- Xinhua
Sun Deshun, former president of China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited, was accused of taking advantage of his various former positions to illegally assist others in matters such as gaining loan approval and credit lines from 2003 to 2019.
In return, Sun accepted money and gifts worth more than 979.5 million yuan (about 154.3 million U.S. dollars).
In his final statement, Sun pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.
Ginger River has been tracking China's efforts in fighting against corruption, with a partial translation of a TV series called Zero Tolerance 零容忍 introducing China's progress on anti-corruption.
7. China unveiled its "No. 1 central document" for 2022 -- Xinhua
The document called for efforts to stabilize and increase agricultural production, steadily raise farmers' incomes, and ensure stability in China's rural areas to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and other changes unseen in a century and promote sound economic and social development.
"We must firmly hold the bottom lines of guaranteeing China's grain security and ensuring no large-scale return to poverty," the document noted.
The document detailed reasonable protection of farmers' incomes from growing grains and coordinated regulation on major agricultural products.
In 2022, China aims to develop 6.67 million hectares of high-standard farmland, promote national projects on black soil protection, and launch the third nationwide soil condition census, noted the document.
The "No. 1 central document," which is the first policy statement released by China's central authorities each year, is seen as an indicator of policy priorities. Work on agriculture and rural areas has been high on the agenda for 19 consecutive years since 2004.
8. Russia to evacuate its diplomats from Ukraine -- Reuters
9. Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council warns against separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence"
China's national reunification must, will surely be realized: spokesperson -- Xinhua
Through joint efforts from compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, China's national reunification must be and will surely be realized, said Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Wednesday.
Noting that the Anti-Secession Law has effectively deterred separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence" and helped ensure peace and stability across the Strait, Ma said the mainland will work with the greatest sincerity and exert utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification.
"However, should separatist forces continue to provoke us, force our hand or even cross the red line, we will have to take resolute measures," Ma added.
Comment: As some foreigners linked the Taiwan issue to the Ukraine crisis, China made its position clear.
10. Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds to whether to sanction Russia -- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
AFP: Multiple countries and organizations, including the US, the EU and the UK, have announced new sanctions against Russia for its actions toward Ukraine. Are there any circumstances whatsoever in which China would do the same?
Hua Chunying (Foreign Ministry spokesperson): Apparently you lack basic knowledge of the Chinese government’s policy. Our position is that sanctions are never fundamentally effective means to solve problems. We consistently oppose all illegal unilateral sanctions.
According to data released by the US Treasury, the US’ sanctions use has increased ten times over the past 20 years. The previous US administration imposed as many as 3,800 sanctions, which means wielding the stick of sanctions three times per day on average. Since 2011, the US has imposed more than 100 sanctions on Russia. However, have the US sanctions solved any problem? Is the world a better place because of those sanctions? Will the Ukraine issue resolve itself thanks to the US sanctions on Russia? Will European security be better guaranteed thanks to the US sanctions on Russia? We hope relevant sides will give this some serious thought and strive to resolve issues through dialogue and consultation.
I would also like to point out that the illegal unilateral sanctions by some countries including the US has caused severe difficulties to relevant countries’ economy and livelihood. When handling the Ukraine issue and relations with Russia, the US mustn’t harm the legitimate rights and interests of China and other parties.