Wednesday, May 25, 2011 | By: Charlie Custer (葛亚辉)

Here’s what’s hot on the Chinese interwebs right now:

Baidu Top Searches:

1. 煤老板与村民群殴 Méi lǎobǎn yǔ cūnmín qún’ōu – This video of riots in a Shanxi town has attracted a lot of attention. Reportedly, the fighting was sparked when a coal boss sent armed thugs to beat up workers and villagers who were angry he had cut off their benefits. The relevant authorities are now investigating the incident. Here’s the story (Chinese).
2. 胶囊墓地 jiāonáng mùdì – A Beijing man is selling the patent to “portable graves” he invented to conveniently hold the remains of your loved ones.?Here’s the story (Chinese).
3. 韩国美女主播宋智善 Hánguó měinǚ zhǔbō Sòng Zhìshàn – Famed South Korean TV host Song Zhishan killed herself by jumping off a building, reportedly for “suspected emotional reasons.”?Here’s the story (Chinese).
4. 王学圻范冰冰结婚 Wáng Xuéqí Fàn Bīngbīng jiéhūn – Weibo rumor has it Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing (pictured) are married, but their spokespeople say that’s a lie and are threatening to sue the reporter who first posted it on his microblog account. Here’s the story (Chinese)
5. 武汉男子专拍车模胸部 Wǔhàn nánzǐ zhuān pāi chē mó xiōngbù – A creep at the Wuhan car show tried repeatedly to take pictures of the breasts of the car models there, until finally some other visitors dragged him away.?Here’s the story (Chinese).
6. 农妇 剖腹自医 nóngfù pōufù zì yī – The story of the poor woman who attempted surgery on herself using a knife because she couldn’t afford to pay hospital bills is stil attracting much attention and debate.?Here’s the story (Chinese).
7. 死刑缓期二年执行 sǐxíng huǎnqī èr nián zhíxíng – China’s Supreme Court has released a report that says, among other things, that last year in the death penalty cases they reviewed, their most common sentence was death with a two year suspended sentence, and have also suggested that lower courts consider this sentence rather than death with immediate execution.?Here’s the story (Chinese).
8. 小牛vs雷霆5月24日 xiǎoniú vs léitíng 5 yuè 24 rì – People are looking for videos like this of yesterday’s Bulls vs. Thunder NBA playoff game.
9. 邮件监控 yóujiàn jiānkòng – It appears there is no recent news about this, and people are just searching for programs that can supervise/spy on email accounts.
10. 第六批节能车目录 dì-liù pī jiénéng chē mùlù – A list of the most energy-efficient cars in China has been published, and Chang’an was the big winner with 33 entries on the list, including 23 consumer cars. Here’s the story (Chinese).

Sina Weibo Trending Topics:

1. 清华楼冠名争议 Qīnghuá lóu guān míng zhēngyì – A new building at prestigious Tsinghua University has been named “Jeanswest Building”, after the clothing brand. This has sparked heated debate and mockery on Weibo.
2. 你好夏天?Nǐhǎo xiàtiān – Summer is here, people are saying hi to it.
3. 热议死刑?rè yì sǐxíng – The Chinese Supreme Court’s report (see #7 on the Baidu list) has led to a lot of discussion about the merits and downsides of the death penalty on Weibo
4. 微博卖瓜第二弹?wēibó mài guā dì-èr dàn?- Yet another southwestern farmer has taken to Weibo to sell his watermelons, people are talking about it and about the exploding watermelons all over the news last week.
5. NBA直播?NBA zhíbō?- It’s playoff time and people are looking for and talking about playoff games
6. 物价上涨?wùjià shàngzhǎng – People are talking about inflation and even suggesting that the government should start printing 500 and 1000 RMB bills because 100 RMB bills can’t buy as much as they used to.
7. 长江中下游干旱?Cháng Jiāng zhōng-xiàyóu gānhàn?- People are talking about the drought that is affecting the middle and lower sections of the Yangtze river.?
8. 王东的音乐情缘?Wáng Dōng de yīnyuè qíngyuán – Sina is hosting a Q&A about music with the famous DJ Wang Dong.

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