Viral Week is our weekly round-up of the weekend’s trending memes, humor, rumor, gossip, and everything else Chinese netizens are chatting about.
Murderer Hides Dismembered Corpse in Suitcase
Police in Taihe, Jiangxi province, arrested a man after he tried to load a suitcase containing a human corpse into a taxi. The taxi driver became suspicious when he noticed bloodstains on the outside of the case, and a foul smell, as he lifted it into his car. The suspect, 33-year-old Xie Lei, fled, but police found and arrested him a day later. The victim is a 19-year-old woman who was a former colleague of Xie's at a local KTV bar where he previously worked as a manager.
Covid Cases in Fujian Lead to Lockdowns and Threaten Holiday Travel
A new Covid-19 outbreak has seen over 60 confirmed cases in Fujian province. Most infections were found in Putian city, while Quanzhou and Xiamen have also recorded cases, with the highly contagious Delta variant apparently to blame. At least two districts in Xiamen are in lockdown, while the Fujian provincial government has ordered mass testing. The first reported case was imported by an adult who returned to China from Singapore, officials have said.
Controversial Giant Golden Statue due for 155 million RMB Relocation
A controversial 58-meter tall statue of folk hero Guan Yu is being moved from Jingzhou to Dianjiangtai, both in Hubei province, at a cost of 155 million RMB. The giant statue cost more than 170 million RMB to complete and was later criticized by residents and the central government as an example of wasteful overspending by local officials. Dianjiangtai is supposedly where Guan Yu, a general during the Three Kingdoms Era (220 – 280), drilled his troops.
Plastic Surgery Manager Assaults Customer
Police are investigating a video which aired on Weibo on September 7 of a customer being beaten at a cosmetic surgery hospital in Jinan, Shandong province. The attacker was a female manager, who not only assaulted the customer but also shouted, “Do you think I'll let you leave Jinan alive?” in response to the customer's complaint about her cosmetic eye surgery. The hospital has issued an apology.
New Water Supply Only Used to Impress Party Superiors
Villagers in Guizhou province have complained to an undercover state council inspection team that water pipes installed two years ago in their village only worked when local cadres showed off the village to superiors. Mud oozed out when the team tried to use one of the taps in Xinguang village, while they also unearthed a water meter with a “0000” reading. Villagers had instead been resorting to syphoning rain water off their roofs.
Police Anti-Fraud App Goes Viral
Police officer Chen Guoping from Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, went viral for his amusing video content to promote the app for the National Anti-Fraud Center, an official platform to crack down on telecommunications scams. Fifty livestreamers conversed with Chen on short-video platforms Douyin and Kuaishou, and the anti-fraud app shot into the top ten most downloaded for the week on some app stores. Later, more officers engaged in novel promotion techniques to raise public awareness of digital fraud, including one cute police dog in Shenzhen wearing a sign saying “scan the app QR code to pet the dog.”
Nauseous Driver Finally Discovers Air Conditioning
A driver in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, was lucky to escape with just bruises after suffering sudden dizziness due to heatstroke and rolling his car on the highway. When police arrived at the scene the man stated he had no idea the car, which he had owned for three years, had air conditioning.
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