China’s Top Ten 2009 Oddest Stories Plus a Few Even Odder Stories from China

Even Odder, Funnier 2009 China Stories

China Daily, China’s “Global Newspaper” posted its choice of the Top Ten odd stories 2009 which the Daily summed up as “Despite the often depressing headlines this year — about the economy, corruption, the war in Iraq, pollution, and so on — there is a lighter side to the news. Indeed, the world is never short of the amusing, the out-of-place and the downright wacky, which serve to enliven our conversations”.

While the following China Daily top ten stories may be “odd”, we’ve added a few from the China blog, MonthlyJoongang.com, including the practice of “spitting” in Chinese theaters.

Ranked number one from China Daily, the story of a suicidal man getting a “helping hand”.

Chen Fuchao who threatened to kill himself is pushed off Haizhu Bridge by 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province, May 22, 2009. [CFP]

A would-be suicide jumper was given a push on Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou by a man frustrated with the fact that the potential jumper had held up traffic for over five hours.

On May 21, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng snuck through the police cordon surrounding Chen Fuchao, who was contemplating taking his own life because he owed two million yuan (US$283,200) after a failed construction project. Lai then climbed up to where Chen sat on the bridge, greeted him with a handshake, and pushed him off.

To learn both Lai and Chen’s fate read Suicide-seeker gets a ‘helping’ pushing hand.

Number two, the wrath of the red light man.

A man in Lanzhou was caught on film using a brick to smash taillights of vehicles at a busy intersection. Before he was done, 30 vehicles in 3 hours had suffered his wrath.

To find out why read Brick-wielding man.

Number three: Strange decree on cigarettes or, “the most ridiculous red-letter document of 2009″.

The county government of Gongan, Hubei province, has issued a circular to explicitly stipulate what brand and how many cigarettes local departments should consume every year, and what the punishments would be meted out for unfulfilled targets. The decree would require nearly 4 million yuan worth of cigarettes to be consumed for meeting the target.

Although by tacit consent, in many places it is accepted that the consumption of cigarettes and hosting of banquets by officials will be at the cost of public money, it is still rare to see a local authority brazenly issue guidelines and assign tasks in the way it has been done by Gongan country. The circular would, doubtless, be the most ridiculous red-letter document of 2009.

The young fashion stars of China’s Hunan Province have been seen around town carrying one of the country’s hottest new accessories: cigarettes.

We’ve added a separate article from Hunan Province, Cigarettes: China’s best new fashion accessory, posted at Monthlyjoongang.com on July 23, 2009.

Ken Lei told us that he wouldn’t be caught going out without his smokes – he told us that, “if you don’t smoke in China, then you might as well be dead.” This is in stark contrast to a lot of the rest of the world where smoking is often seen as a nasty habit.

China Daily’s fourth oddest story: Short hair only! It’s the new civility rule, or the “immorality” of girls with long hair.

FOSHAN, Guangdong: For most girls, letting their hair grow long or cutting it short is a matter of style.

For a group of girls in Foshan, Guangdong province, it’s a matter of being allowed back into school.

As many as 32 girls in Chancheng Experimental High School have been suspended and will have to take a course on “morals” for refusing to cut their hair.

“The students have been asked to cut their hair in accordance with school regulations,” said Zhang Jianqiang, director of the school’s moral education office.

Number five: “No More Kissing on Campus” or the Chinese “Petting Police on Patrol”.

Months after an east China university banned public kissing and canoodling on campus, the petting police were still on patrol — despite a heated debate online and on campus.

About 100 student guards wearing red armbands were employed by Nanjing Forestry University in November to cool down public display of affection among students on the campus in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Most students, however, felt the measure unnecessary, intrusive, and a waste of time.

Number Six: Home nudists asked to cover up, or why nudity in your own home “corrupts public morality”.

Wang Nian and his wife practice nudism – at home. Their neighbor, Liu Hanqing, see things differently.

After noticing Wang’s wife wander out onto her balcony naked, and then learning the Wangs never wear clothes at home, Liu complained to the local community committee, saying the Wangs were corrupting public morality.

The Wangs agreed to be more modest, but said they were befuddled by Liu’s complaints.

Number Seven: “You can’t do a surgery DIY”, or, China’s Public Option healthcare.

A man used a screwdriver, kitchen knife, and alcohol to remove an implanted steel plate in his left leg because he felt the operation to remove the plate would be “too expensive”.

Number Eight: “Human skeleton is not a toy”, or why med students playing with human skeletons shouldn’t post their antics on the internet.

Number Nine: “No good deed goes unpunished”, or Chinese Good Samaritan Gets Screwed.

A 59-yr-old bean cake seller is being sued after she found 1,700 yuan on the road and then managed to find the owner. The ungrateful owner claims he lost 8,200 yuan — and demanded that Zhou return the remaining 6,500 yuan.

Number Ten: “Clean and honest administration includes no porn?”

The “clean and honest work” billboard hung in front of the Public Security Bureau of Mengcheng County, central China’s Anhui province reads “no making, viewing, dissemination of pornographic videos are allowed,” causing locals to wonder what, exactly, prompted the reminder in the first place. After all, there is an old Chinese saying that the more one tries to cover something up, the more obvious it is.

While these-excluding the Hunan Province kids and their new found smoking habits-were China Daily’s “top ten odd stories”, another post at Monthlyjoongang.com, Victim, caught our eye.

Chinese “Spitting” Victim

This ‘woman’ may look like she is part of an elaborate costume party, or perhaps lead in a depressing opera, but she was in fact photographed leaving a local cinema – as a paying customer. Her fake attempt at an apology for blocking the isle was duly ignored and she was spat at by several disgruntled customers.

And this post on “Pogman”.

It would seem that poor old Pogman has fallen on hard times. Even the Chinese have turned their backs on him. Latest word on the street is that he’s been trying to secure life insurance in New Zealand by emulating their native mascot…

After searching Google, we have to admit we’re stumped as to who “Pogman” is.

Then there’s the post, Not All Fun & Games (at a Panda Fashion Show), dated August 14, 2009.

Sometimes the assumptions that one makes about Panda themed fashion shows can be wrong, dead wrong. “Obviously we cannot showcase all the submissions received” said one organiser “but you have to understand it is the hardest part of our job deciding who gets to walk down that runway.”

Try telling that to the three hopefuls pictured below. These are just 3 among thousands who are denied the right to showcase their fashion creations.

And finally, there’s If this is the Future of Chinese Fashion…, posted August 19, 2009… The writer who posted this is hysterical.

If this is the Future of Chinese Fashion…then sign me up! Well as August draws to an end we all know what that means – Annual Chinese Future Fashion Show. Perhaps the biggest surprise this year, from renowned Chinese Fashion designer Ming Cai, is this piece which is actually designed to be worn by two people, with the second person (arms pictured) sitting in a specially designed ventilated backpack. Said the designer “I wanted to create a piece that would encourage teamwork and unity, for example if the two are in disagreement, then it makes it hard for either to eat.” We just hope it includes instructions on what to do when nature calls.

By LBG

Tags: 2009, China, TOP TEN