Six years later, mother of murdered woman wins compensation

The mother of Jiang Ge (a woman murdered in Japan in 2016), won compensation totaling close to 700,000 RMB in her long-running lawsuit against Jiang’s then roomate Liu Nuanyang, formerly named Liu Xing. Jiang was stabbed to death by Liu’s ex-boyfriend, the case igniting significant public debate. A court in Qingdao, Shandong province, found Liu failed to inform Jiang of the potential dangers of her ex-boyfriend and locked Jiang out of her room when he turned violent. Liu is to pay 496,000 RMB in damages, and 200,000 RMB for causing mental harm to Jiang’s mother when she spread inappropriate comments after the event—the highest mental distress compensation ever awarded in China.

Woman quarantined in blind date’s home

A woman surnamed Wang was trapped in her blind date’s apartment in Zhengzhou, Henan province, for three days after his residential complex was placed under a temporary Covid lockdown. Wang, who had flown over 1,000 kilometers from Guangzhou to her hometown to attend blind dates with 10 potential suitors, went for dinner at the man’s home before becoming stuck. Wang’s videos of her time in the man’s home went viral on short video platform Douyin, while a related hashtag was viewed over 5 million times on Weibo. Their time together didn’t spark romance, but Wang at least complimented her date’s cooking.

Omicron variant discovered in multiple Chinese cities

Multiple locations reported cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, including Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Beijing, along with Henan and Shaanxi provinces. Shanghai reported two locally transmitted cases and three asymptomatic cases, with 304 close contacts placed into quarantine. Beijing reported its first Omicron case over the weekend, with mass testing of potential contacts launched. The case comes just weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics, hosted by Beijing, due to start on February 4.

Over 100 ostriches on the loose in Guangxi

Over 100 ostriches raced through the streets of Chongzuo, Guangxi, after escaping from a farm. The owner managed to recapture most of the ostriches with the help of local police, but 30 to 40 remain at large. The farmer believes they may be hiding in sugarcane fields, the vegetation tall enough to conceal the long-necked birds.

KFC criticized for “blind box” promotion

The China Consumer Association called for a boycott of a KFC promotion, in collaboration with toy maker Pop Market, featuring limited-edition “blind boxes.” The call coems after some customers spent as much as 10,494 RMB on over 100 meals, paid others to purchase meals for them, or bought meals for the toys and threw the food away. The waste led to a flood of criticism for KFC and the promotion.

Woman hands in 150 million RMB check she found to police

An unnamed woman in Panzhihua, Sichuan province, gained fame after finding a check worth 150 million yuan on the ground, then handing it in to police instead of trying to cash it. Under “purpose [of transaction],” the check read “petty money.” Bank staff verified the check was real, but no longer valid as checks expire after 10 days of writing, shredding it under police observation. The incident reminded netizens of a popular Chinese children’s song which includes the line, “I picked up one penny by the street, I handed it in to mister policeman.”

Finance firm’s anti-wealth flaunting measures backfire

An unnamed securities company went viral after its regulations forbidding staff from flaunting wealth were shared online—with netizens in awe of how wealthy the company and its employees appear to be. Rules for behavior included forbidding employees having cars worth over one million yuan, watches worth over 150,000 yuan, and handbags over 50,000 yuan—all figures well out of reach of most of China’s population.

Balloon Monkey King

A balloon “stylist” surnamed Zeng, and a team of nine people, spent three days and nights in a shopping mall in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, constructing a 14-meter-tall Monkey King out of balloons.

Expensive pet training fails miserably

A man in Shanghai spent 7,000 RMB on 40 days of professional training for his pet dog after it bit him and members of his family, only for the puppy to bite him again three days after returning from the intensive classes.