Here, you see at left, Fan Xiaoqin (that's his name) chatting with a boy at the Yanhui village in Jiangxi province where he lives.
The Star reports:
BEIJING: The similarities of facial appearances and expressions with Internet tycoon Jack Ma have changed the life of a poor child in East China’s Jiangxi province after his photos and videos went viral.
A one-minute video of the boy Fan Xiaoqin, or “mini Jack Ma” that Internet users called him, attracted public attention earlier this month, and the video also proved a photo published online last year was real, not photoshopped.
Like the Forbes magazine’s description of Ma, the nine-year-old boy has “protruding cheekbones, dishevelled hair” and “the mischievous dew tooth smiles.”
The short video showed that Fan’s parents were handicapped and his family were poor.
Ma, the founder of the Alibaba Group, said in an internal e-mail on Nov 9 that he would offer financial support for Fan’s study until he graduates from university.
Huang Jiayi, a local at the Yanhui village, said that her older cousin who returned home from his work place in Anhui province first took a photo of Fan in May last year and published it online to attract people’s attention. — China Daily/Asia News Network
BEIJING: A young Jack Ma look-alike has won the heart of the founder of Alibaba Group, the real Jack Ma.
Fan Xiaoqin or "mini Jack Ma" is 8-years-old and lives in Yongfeng County, east China's Jiangxi Province. His family circumstances are unfortunate as his mother has poliomyelitis, his father a missing leg and his grandma, Alzheimer's disease, reported jxnews.com.cn on November 13.
"Mini Jack Ma" came to fame after a villager posted a video of him online in 2015. The internet exploded in remarks over how similar the boy looked to Jack Ma. Once again, with the coming of double-eleven "mini Jack Ma" won the hearts of internet once again, and netizens urged that Jack Ma should act as a beneficiary to Fan Xiaoqin, given his family circumstances.
The attention and buzz caught Jack Ma's attention and he saw the similarities between himself and the boy. Just last week, he announced he would financially support Fan Xiaoqin until he graduates from university. – China Daily/Asia News Network.
The day started out this morning with bright sunshine and the promise of yet another hot day but alas, it's overcast now and even threatening to rain. In some parts of the peninsula, we are seeing moderate PSI readings and some smog in the air so some rain might be good.
The PSI readings from the Department of Environment website as as the chart below. Blue denotes good PSI reading of between 0-50 while green is Moderate for between 51-100. Kuala Lumpur is a combination of bothblue and green.
Even though Malaysia is in the tropics, our temperatures seldom go beyond 40degC as what has been experienced in other non-tropical countries. I read with alarm and some amusement the other day about the heatwave in China, Beijing to be exact and that it was so unbearable but Beijing people flock to IKEA to escape the heatwave with some even falling asleep on their beds! I kid you not! Photos below are proof enough. Perhaps a little amusing..?
Stepped out of the office this afternoon to go to lunch and whaddayaknow... the haze is back! The unmistakable smell of smoke is in the air. Reports said more than a hundred hotspots (from just 1 when the haze was under control) have been spotted, most of which are at the Riau province. As a result, Bukit Rambai in Malacca being closest to that part of Sumatra is getting the smoke as the wind carries it over the Straits of Malacca.
A few other places in the Peninsula Malaysia are beginning to get unhealthy PSI readings. At 3pm, Cheras in Kuala Lumpur had a PSI reading of 117 while Banting in Selangor at 111. Bandaraya Malacca was at 105 while Bukit Rambai (Malacca) at 126.
By comparison, the haze is insignificant as opposed to the 6.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred at 7:45 this morning at Gansu province in China. 54 people have died. A second 5.6 earthquake struck the same region about 90 minutes after the first, Xinhua said, the most significant of several aftershocks.
People stand outside their homes after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Dingxi, Gansu province, July 22, 2013. REUTERS/China Daily
Eight towns in the remote, mountainous area sustained serious damage in the quake and subsequent flooding and mudslides. About 380 buildings had collapsed and 5,600 sustained damaged in Zhangxian county.
The other day, I mentioned about family members signing up (and paid for) for a tour of Shanghai and surrounding cities in October and my contemplation on whether to join them. That was ten days ago.
Over the weekend, a girlfriend said her girlfriend will be going on a Silk Road package tour middle of next month. Horrors! There is no turning back now as everything has been paid for. She assured that they will not be anywhere near Beijing or Shanghai, if that's helpful.
China is a popular travel destination for Malaysians particular the Chinese community, many of whom speak and write the language and who may still have relatives in China. Family relations aside, China is still a fascinating country to visit.
Malaysia is right now heading towards the polls so we see more news coverage of matters concerning politics and none or very little of this new bird flu, the H7N9, of which infection is currently found concentrated in eastern provinces in China. Here, this could be a case of no news is good news, perhaps, but it is still good to have current update on this flu that health authorities fear of it becoming pandemic should the virus become transmissible human-to-human. As of now, there is no human-to-human transmission reported.
Bloomberg reported yesterday that
Beijing confirmed that a 7-year-old girl has H7N9 avian influenza and Henan province reported its first two cases, opening a new front in the spread of the virus in the world’s most populous nation.
Shanghai said today two people infected with the strain of bird flu died, taking the country’s death toll to 13. The city also reported three fresh infections today while the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang also confirmed new cases, raising the national tally to 60 from 49 yesterday.
I have family members who have signed up for a tour of Shanghai and a few other cities nearby. I have been asked to join them and am now wondering whether it is a good idea to still go ahead with the plan or otherwise. The visit is in October.
China reported that it had confirmed 14 cases of the new flu, and on Friday it reported that six cases were fatal according to NY Times.
Though only made as a precaution, U.S. federal health officials have begun to make a seed vaccine against the mysterious new H7N9 flu circulating in China. A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized, an agency virologist said the agency was “fairly worried” about the new virus.
No cases of human-to-human transmission have been confirmed. It is also not known how people are getting infected. The few known cases are spread out in a wide area around Shanghai. Exposure to infected poultry is an obvious suspicion. With the new flu, only two of the 14 known cases are poultry workers; a third was a cook.
On Thursday, the virus was found in pigeons in a Shanghai live bird market. The authorities began culling every bird there.
It will take at least a month to create the seed vaccine, even though the agency is speeding the process by building it from synthetic DNA rather than waiting for a virus sample to arrive from China, said Michael Shaw, associate laboratory director for the C.D.C.’s influenza division.
According to the World Health Organization, preliminary tests in China suggest the new virus is susceptible to the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza.
Several countries have acted against the flu. Vietnam banned imports of Chinese poultry. Japan posted airport notices urging people to report flu symptoms. Hong Kong banned the import of live birds from the mainland.
China is mobilising resources nationwide to fight a new strain of deadly bird flu virus, H7N9, that has killed three people. Japan and Hong Kong have stepped up vigilance against the virus and Vietnam banned imports of Chinese poultry.
The new H7N9 bird flu strain does not appear to be transmitted from human to human but authorities in Hong Kong raised a preliminary alert and said they were taking precautions at the airport.
In Japan, airports have put up posters at entry points warning all airline passengers from China to seek medical attention if they suspect they have bird flu.
A total of nine people in China have been confirmed to have contracted H7N9, all in the east of the country. Three infected people have died.
All passengers on flights in and out of Hong Kong were being asked to notify flight attendants or airport staff if they were feeling unwell.
Vietnam said it had banned poultry imports from China, citing the risk from H7N9.
It sure was good to wake up with the sun shining outside my window this morning. Did you think the world would come to an end yesterday as what has been interpreted from the Mayan calendar? The joke is probably on us.
Like the calendar we have in the kitchen on Dec 31, the Mayan calendar could have been something similar. If that were the case, today is the start of a brand new year in the Mayan calendar.
A new day, a new life. This video is amazing to watch. It shows a child being born on a bus in China. I salute the mother who took it so coolly. Read the story here.
We survived! It sure calls for a celebration! Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend ahead, everyone!
At least 10 of the dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School were children, the source said.
A parent who was inside the school at the time of the attack said she heard what sounded like at least 100 rounds being fired. She said she saw two school employees who had died.
. Knife attack at Chinese school wounds 22 children Beijing (CNN) -- Twenty-two primary school children were wounded in a knife attack Friday in central China, authorities said. The attack took place at the entrance to the Chenpeng Village Primary School in Henan province, according to the public information department of Guangshan county, the area where the school is located. An adult was also wounded, it said. Several of the children are in critical condition.
. Justin Bieber's murder, castration plotted, police say (CNN) -- A New Mexico inmate, an ex-convict on probation and his nephew are under investigation for plotting to castrate and murder pop singer Justin Bieber, police said Thursday. Their unsuccessful scheme called for targeting Bieber and his bodyguard while in New York City in mid-November, and their motive grew from the inmate's quest for notoriety and his infatuation with Bieber, said a New Mexico State Police affidavit.
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Let's not even touch on what's happening in the Middle-east..
Just read from The Star about the earthquakes in southwest China yesterday afternoon.
Source: The Star
It was report that at least 67 people were killed and 731 injured when two earthquakes struck a remote and mountainous area of southwest China on Friday, toppling houses and sending panicked crowds onto the streets.
Residents described how people ran out of buildings screaming as the two shallow quakes hit on the border of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces an hour apart around the middle of the day. A string of aftershocks followed.
Television footage showed roads strewn with fallen bricks and rocks in Yunnan province's Yiliang county, which appeared to be worst hit.
Authorities were sending thousands of tents, quilts and coats, and Premier Wen Jiabao was also heading to the area, the state Xinhua news agency said, confirming the death and injured toll, which rose steadily throughout the day. More in The Star..China quakes kill 67, injure 731
According to the US Geological Survey, the first quake struck at 11.20 am (0320 GMT) at a depth of around 10 kilometres (six miles), and the second quake around an hour later, putting the magnitude of both at 5.6.
From NY Times, image below shows two buses navigating a road of fallen rocks after a series of earthquakes in southwest China on Friday.
From NT Times:
More than 200,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Yunnan, a province known for its scenic beauty and ethnic diversity, said the Yunnan Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao flew to the earthquake zone on Friday evening.
In the town of Luozehe, a rice- and tobacco-growing area in northeastern Yunnan, 46 people were killed, more than 700 people were injured and more than 120,000 homes seriously damaged.
The earthquake was so violent that rocks from landslides crushed cars in Luozehe, a water company worker, Tan Xuewen, said in a telephone interview. “Suddenly we felt the strong earthquake,” Mr. Tan said. “Huge rocks fell off the mountain. I immediately grabbed an old person and began to run.”
At a tiny primary school in Luozehe, the teacher, Ma Decai, said his 11 students, ages 9 to 12, were eating lunch in the dining room when the earthquake hit.
“Dirt dropped from the ceiling into our bowls and cooking pots,” Mr. Ma said. The students abandoned their meals and ran out of the room, he said. As he tried to prepare a new lunch for the students, aftershocks struck the building.
Large cracks appeared in the mud and stone schoolhouse, and the toilet collapsed.
In neighboring Guizhou Province, the authorities said they knew of no casualties. But homes in rural Guizhou, often built of wood and mud, are usually constructed on hillsides, and provincial authorities said some homes had been damaged or destroyed.
Tents, blankets and coats were being sent to the region, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Guizhou, an area of rice farms and coal mines, is also undergoing major development, with hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into the province in the last year to build roads, bridges and industrial zones. It was not immediately known if any of the new projects were damaged by the earthquake. More on NY Times..Earthquakes in China Kill Dozens
Oh dear! Early this morning, an 8-lane suspension bridge in northeast China, only nine months after it opened, collapsed killing three people (two killed on the spot, a third later), injuring five.
The bridge which is part of an airport expressway in Harbin city, only opened last November after two years of construction that cost 1.9 billion yuan ($300 million) according to China News Service.
A 100-meter (320-foot) section broke off when four heavy trucks drove onto the bridge, plunging them to the ground and crushing them, said a CCTV news reporter at the scene. The bridge was designed to handle up to 9,800 vehicles per hour.
Malaysia is in a sweet spot currently as China will loan two pandas to Malaysia as part of a collaboration between the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Malaysian government. This is an honour as Malaysia joins the ranks of only a few countries that have received pandas.
Source: Wikipedia
A little about Panda Diplomacy from Wikipedia: Loans of giant pandas to American and Japanese zoos formed an important part of the diplomacy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 1970s, as it marked some of the first cultural exchanges between the People's Republic and the West. This practice has been termed "Panda diplomacy".
By 1984, however, pandas were no longer given as gifts. Instead, the PRC began to offer pandas to other nations only on 10-year loans, under terms including a fee of up to US$1,000,000 per year and a provision that any cubs born during the loan are the property of the PRC.
Not sure if there is a fee involved for the two pandas coming to Malaysia but one thing is for sure, Malaysians and people visiting Malaysia will get a chance to see pandas in person although it may be a challenge for the keepers in keeping the pandas comfortable in our hot and humid weather.
The pandas, to be on loan for 10 years, mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between both countries in 2014. Bilateral relations between Malaysia and China started during the tenure of late Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, who was the father of the current Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said that the presence of the pandas would promote public awareness on panda conservation undertaken by China. This will encourage the public to appreciate and learn the importance of biodiversity and wildlife conservation in Malaysia.
A nationwide contest to name the pandas would be held to spur interest among Malaysians to learn more about this unique animal.
The two pandas will be placed in a special exhibit in Taman Wetland, Putrajaya. There, now there's another reason to visit Putrajaya, the Federal Government Administrative Centre replacing Kuala Lumpur as the administrative capital.
Update:
China news reports in April reported that Malaysia would spend a whopping RM20mil for the upkeep of the pandas.
The budget is expected to cover for the construction of an air-conditioned sanctuary for the pandas, importing bamboos from China for their meals as well to train local handlers for the animals. (Source:Giant Pandas for Malaysia)
Once in a while, you get something in the mailbox, something short yet meaningful, funny sometimes, and worth sharing. The following is one of them. Wish I could credit the source but it isn't indicated on the email, as always. All the same, thanks to the source.
A few queries on 'who won China's Got Talent?' got me digging for the answer. After this video of the talented 12-year-old Mongolian boy, like me, you may also be wondering as to whether he took home the trophy. Did he?
The winner of second season CGT (China's Got Talent), one of China’s most popular reality TV shows, is a 19-year-old popper. Zhuo Jun, enthralled the audience at the four-hour-long China's Got Talent finals held at Shanghai Stadium on Sunday, Jul 10. Susan Boyle was among the performing guest artistes.
According to CNNGO: Growing up on the farm in Guangxi Province, Zhuo Jun only started popping two years ago. He learnt purely by imitating Michael Jackson and Korean star Poppin Hyun Joon on TV and through the Internet.
Zhuo is also the only university student in his village.
The 19-year-old was crowned champion after beating seven other contestants in a four-hour long final competition in Shanghai Stadium in the rain.
Zhuo Jun told a reporter from Tencent that he had decided to stick with his studies after winning the show.
Btw, winner of the first season of CGT is the armless pianist, Liu Wei.
Travelling to a country in Winter on holiday is not exactly my idea of an ideal holiday. I prefer to travel light and dress light - no fuss about winter clothing or extra extra layers. Plus, who doesn't like some sunshine..
Beijing is one of my top destinations to visit in China but it won't be a Winter visit, mind you. Nowadays, there is no shortage of travel agencies selling packages for china tours. The other day, I was going through some sites for guided Beijing tours and was pleasantly surprised to find so many choices and packaged tours with varied destinations. I wonder what is the best time to travel to Beijing.
Italy is another country topping my travel list. I have no doubt should I start checking out on italy tours, there will be lots of choices. Watching Astro's TLC is a delight especially when they show Venice and Vatican City. They just showed one last night. Did you know that policemen in Rome are wearing uniform designed by Giorgio Armani? How cool is that! Italy is indeed the fashion capital of the world!
If you like history and art, Europe is a fabulous place to visit. Escorted tours are aplenty. You would be spoilt for choice for europe tours. I stumbled upon a travel site online that offers not only tours to Europe, but to other interesting parts of the world including Panama, the Land between the Seas, as it is called. Collette Vacations is offering some great discounts currently, so if you are looking for a good travel deal, Collette Vacations is where you could pick up some great savings and they do have lots of discounted packages and special offers, left, right and center. Check them out. You won't regret it.
Indeed, One man's meat is another man's poison. Many people find our 'King of fruits, the durian, repulsive. I'm sure there are equally stomach-churning food in the world, to me, that is.
Have yet to try balut of The Philippines, the stinky tofu of Hong Kong/Taiwan, nor moldy cheeses. But one food I can't see myself eating it has got to be those "virgin eggs" of Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province in China.
"Virgin eggs are actually eggs boiled in the urine of virgin boys.
A local Chinese paper, Nanyang Siang Pau, reported that some apple traders in Beijing pour earth into the inner layer of boxes to create more weight to fetch a higher price.
Each box with mud could weigh between 1.5kg and 4kg.
A wholesaler, identified as Lee, told a reporter they started selling apples in mud-insulated boxes since October last year.
A normal (cardboard) box would weigh just over 1kg with a consumer price of 5 yuan (RM2.30).
A “mud box” is sold up to 6 yuan or 7 yuan (RM2.80-RM3.25).
Due to the thickness of the box, there would be fewer apples.
Asked if he was worried that consumers would come back and confront him after opening the boxes, Lee said: “Those who buy will not eat, those who eat will not buy. That’s why the mud boxes continue to exist.”
Explaining his rationale, he said most people bought the apples to give away as gifts.
*Sigh..* Have you experienced anything quite like this?
While we are at it, we might as well learn something about apples. The proverb "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." does hold some truth. According to Wikipedia, research suggests that apples may reduce the risk of colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer. Compared to many other fruits and vegetables, apples contain relatively low amounts of vitamin C, but are a rich source of other antioxidant compounds. The fiber content, while less than in most other fruits, helps regulate bowel movements and may thus reduce the risk of colon cancer. They may also help with heart disease, weight loss, and controlling cholesterol. The fiber contained in apples reduces cholesterol by preventing re-absorption, and (like most fruits and vegetables) they are bulky for their caloric content.
Couldn't imagine Malaysia too has art pieces that are sought after by collectors. The Star today carried a story about an Expensive art by Chinese master stolen. This is a copy of the piece, the original believed to be worth millions.
The 88.9cm-high by 60.9cm-wide oil painting, belonged to 65-year-old Foo Lai Loon’s late father. It was stolen from his family home in Taman Limau Manis, Kota Baru (Kelantan) on Tuesday morning, two days ago.
It is a portrait of Foo’s grandfather painted by Xu sometime during World War II in Singapore. Xu was a family friend.
Art works by Xu are much sought after by collectors. In 2006, a painting, The Slave and Lion, fetched US$6.9mil (RM22.5mil) at an auction in Hong Kong and auction houses such as Christie’s Hong Kong have sold his works at prices much higher than their estimated value.
Art has always piqued an interest in me, so I googled the painter and one search led to another and another, and finally, a site that lovers of Chinese art, paintings, and history would appreciate. It's the Huntington archive of China: 5000 Years. Awesome, awesome works of art over the years. Finds like this make me all excited about the Internet and very thankful for it's advent.
This educational website takes you through 5000 years of art history in China. Below is the index of the site's contents. For an actual view of the paintings, go to the Huntington Archive. The website allows you to expand an image (by clicking on the thumbnail), save an image, or simply dragging and dropping it to your desktop or desired folder. Believe me, you will enjoy the tour, even if you are not an art enthusiast.
INNOVATIONS IN CHINESE PAINTING (1850 - 1950)
Chinese Painting (Part I) | Chinese Painting (Part II) | Chinese Painting (Part III) | Calligraphy
Do you make it a point to soak your vegetables in water before cooking them? Pesticides used are poisonous, though their use is permitted on farm products as products are safe to eat after adequate dilution of the pesticide content, according to Tang Bowen, director of Nanning agriculture bureau.
The current drought in China's southeast area has contributed to tainted veggies which is a worry in China currently.
Some people resort to home remedies made from fruits and vegetables and acne home remedies are one of them. You may want to be extra careful if you are in China especially in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China. Refer to The Daily Chili for more information on the tainted vegetable situation.
Prizes for the Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize 2009 were presented to the winners in Stockholm last Thursday.
Journalist Chin Mui Yoon made The Star proud by clinching the third prize for the Asia and Pacific region for her story Living With Bombs, which was published in StarMag on Nov 30 last year.
Winning this prestigious Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize makes The Star the first Malaysian newspaper to win at the prestigious awards organised by the European Commission in association with Reporters Without Borders and the World Association of Newspapers.
The Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize was created in 1992 by the European Commission to honour written press, radio and television journalists from all over the world committed to human rights, democracy and development.
It is named after Lorenzo Natali, a former vice-president of the European Commission, who was in charge of cooperation and development between 1985 and 1989.
The first prize for the Asia and Pacific region went to South China Morning Post reporter, Fiona Tam, for her article Deadly Harvest, documenting China’s black corpses market; while Massoud Ansari of the Herald, Pakistan, picked up the second prize for The Ticking Bomb on the assault of girls in his country.
The best: Muhammad Yunus (third from left) posing for a group photo with (from left) Tam, Chin and Massoud Ansari in Stockholm on Thursday.
Nobel Prize 2006 laureate, Muhammad Yunus, gave away prizes.
The Lorenzo Natali Grand Prize went to Chinese journalist, Lee Yee Chong, for his television documentary for Now TV news channel on the deadly earthquake in Sichuan on May 12 last year which claimed 50,000 lives.
Relatives of victims maintained that the huge death toll was due to bad quality constructions. Yee-Chong Lee and his camera crew headed back to the epicentre to investigate the latest development in the issue of substandard construction. While the Chinese government denies any responsibility, relatives of the victims are trying to make their voices heard. Watch the video below for the story..
