Sympathy for a tiger that killed a zoo visitor, and a controversial social media post from the UN
Society & Culture
Top society and culture news for February 1, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "A tale of two disappearing billionaires."
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Visitor mauled to death by tiger in Ningbo zoo in China / BBC
A man was mauled to death by a tiger at a zoo in Ningbo in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province on Sunday afternoon. A local tourism authority said the victim had intended to avoid buying a ticket by climbing over the zoo’s wall but ended up in the tiger enclosure. Shortly after the man’s death, the tiger was shot dead by a special forces unit from the Ningbo police. On Chinese social media, the tragedy triggered a wave of mourning — for the tiger, not for the man. “The man himself was looking for death. Why should the tiger be responsible for that?” one commenter wrote (in Chinese). -
UN social media posts removed in China after backlash / Voice of America
The United Nations deleted two Lunar New Year posts on refugees and poverty from its official Weibo account after drawing an onslaught of criticism from Chinese internet users. One post that was published on the eve of the holiday began, “Have you had your Lunar New Year’s dinner yet? It must have been some feast!” Then the post took a sudden turn by mentioning the fact that millions of people are still struggling with starvation and living in extreme poverty. Before the removal of the two posts, negative comments flooded the UN Weibo account, criticizing the posting of inappropriate content that destroyed the festival mood. Facing criticism, Peter Dawkins, the head of the United Nations web services, told Voice of America that the controversial posts were taken down due to “the timing” of their release and stated, “We have always appreciated our Chinese audience’s support for the work of the United Nations and will continue to try our best to live up to that trust.”
- A complete guide to the selfie-enhancing apps taking China by storm / Quartz
- Scientists describe ancient bag-like sea creatures from China / NPR
- The Chinese man trapped in India for half a century / BBC
- Ancient porcelain arts thrive again in a Chinese river town / NYT (paywall)
- Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney to move to China and more transfer rumors / Manchester Evening News
- Officials give all clear for cows to go to China on Saudi businessman’s ship / Stuff (New Zealand)
