Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Beijing’s plan to punish skeptics of traditional Chinese medicine

Last week, health authorities in Beijing unveiled a set of proposed regulations on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for public consultation. One article from the new regulations has drawn the ire of legal experts and people skeptical of TCM practices: Article 54 stipulates that those who “defame and slander” TCM are subject to punishment by public security departments or even face criminal responsibility for picking quarrels, causing trouble, and "disrupting public order,” a vaguely defined crime often used by Chinese law enforcers to police online speech.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Hong Kong actor Edison Chen publicly supports Black Lives Matter, to mixed response

Edison Chen (陈冠希 Chén Guānxī), a Hong Kong-born actor and fashion entrepreneur, is facing backlash after showing solidarity with U.S. protesters in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Should Chinese women have multiple husbands?

Yew-Kwang Ng 黄有光, a Malaysian economist who currently serves as a professor of economics at Fudan University in Shanghai, has attracted a great deal of ire on Chinese social media after publishing an article in which he suggested China legalize and promote polyandry — allowing women to marry multiple men — in a bid to solve the country’s surplus of bachelors.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Anti-black racism, Hong Kong riots, and America’s decline: Chinese conversations about the George Floyd protests

In many parts of the world, the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police has prompted mass protests and global calls for an end to police brutality and racial injustice. The worldwide movement also took off in China — in the form of critical editorials published by state media, scathing tweets from Chinese officials, and an enormous number of comments on social media.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

More babies, fewer divorces, and sexual harassment: Takeaways from China’s new civil code

Chinese lawmakers on Thursday, the final day of this year’s Two Sessions political meetings, passed the country’s first civil code — a legislative package aimed at governing almost every aspect of Chinese people’s lives, including marriage, property, and personal rights.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Three more social media hot topics from this year’s Two Sessions — China’s annual political meeting

In addition to the five popular proposals we highlighted last week, we explain three more subjects that had the Chinese internet buzzing in the past few days: Prohibiting single women from egg freezing, removing paywall of China’s largest database of academic papers, and curbing the rise of superfan culture.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Stop hiding your periods, says Chinese pad commercial

A new commercial airing in China for Libresse, a Swedish brand of feminine hygiene products, has generated a shower of praise on social media for breaking new ground in menstrual products advertising in China.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Is the Chinese public losing patience with Luo Yonghao？

Given that Luo Yonghao has a tendency to make outlandish claims and bail on plans and promises, the flower backlash is probably indicative of the public’s quickly thinning patience with him.

Jenny Feng

Society & Culture

Top five proposals trending on Chinese social media from this year’s Two Sessions

The five proposals that seem to have sparked the most discussion on the Chinese internet this year are: Legalizing egg freezing for single women, improving laws to protect animals from cruelty and abuse, abandoning cool-off periods for divorces, building a database of people who commit sexual offenses against minors, and banning Chinese family style communal eating.

Jenny Feng