NBA plans Chinese New Year celebration
Top society and culture news for January 12, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "China smiles at Vietnam while consumers snap up Japanese products."
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NBA’s Chinese New Year bash to include jerseys, Yao Ming ceremony / ESPN
The National Basketball Association has announced that players from the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards are going to wear special uniforms to celebrate the Chinese New Year during the festivities, which run from January 27 to February 12. -
Struggling Chinese school pupils given higher grades from ‘mark bank’ to avoid failing exams / SCMP
A school in Nanjing launched a “mark bank” system in order to motivate students. Children at the school can borrow points that they need to get passing grades, but they have to pay back such loans by scoring extra points on future exams. Kan Huang, the director of the school, said that “implementing the mark bank was a step in the direction of placing more emphasis on students’ growth rather than their final exam performance.”
- Service with a smile in Xi’an / WSJ (paywall)
- Government orders Chinese air quality app to limit readings / Sixth Tone
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Obama speech and Trump press conference triggers contrasting responses from Chinese netizens
On Tuesday night, President Obama delivered his farewell address, talking about his accomplishments and his vision for the future. About 12 hours later, his successor, Donald Trump, held his first press conference since winning the U.S. presidential election. On the Chinese internet, comments were generally positive about Obama and negative about Trump. Typical postings included a comment that reads: “I will miss Obama for sure, especially after Trump takes office.” Another says Trump “looks silly. Not presidential at all.”
