Friday Follow-Up: Official Ladyboy Scandal, Rich People and More H7N9!

Friday Follow-Up: Official Ladyboy Scandal, Rich People and More H7N9!
Apr 19, 2013 By eChinacities.com

Editor’s note: Friday Follow-up is our brand new weekly follow-up of new developments related to major stories in China we reported on recently. This week’s updates include confirmation from Chinese authorities that the H7N9 virus may in fact be transmittable from human to human, correction that the Guangdong village leader caught posing with Thai Ladyboys was not actually suspended, more details about the profile and lives of China’s super rich and developments in the Former Railway Minister/Shanxi business woman scandal.

1) Human-to-human H7N9 infection possible
The latest update in the ongoing H7N9 saga is a statement from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirming that human-to-human transmission of the virus may be possible. The statement comes shortly after the father of the China’s first H7N9 death case also contracted the virus. However, officials are also stressing that trans-human infections are very rare and likely to remain within families. Nonetheless, there’s no time like the present to start wearing that facemask on the subway and bus. As of Wednesday, China has reported 82 human infections of H7N9, including 17 deaths.

2) More details emerge about China’s super rich
On April 15, Forbes released their China Rich List which confirmed that half of China’s billionaires now come from the Mainland (as opposed to mainly Hong Kong and Macau). Later that day, Hurun Research Institute and Industrial Bank Co also released a report detailing the age (40 on average), sex (90% are male), number of vehicles and watches (4 cars, 5 watches), number of holidays a year (21 days), sleeping patterns (6.6 hours on weekdays, 7.4 hours on weekends) and more. Needless to say, we, the ordinary (read: fairly broke) people, are richer in our knowledge of millionaires in China now thanks to these two reports.

3) Daughter of Shanxi Pimp Businesswoman now under fire too
Former Railway Minister Liu Zhijun has been in the news a lot lately due to being charged with bribery and abuse of power, but now the spotlight has shifted to the family of Ding Shumiao, the ruthless Shanxi businesswoman who pimped out the entire cast of “Dream of the Red Chamber” in order to secure a 800 million RMB deal from Liu. On April 17, Ding’s daughter Hou Junxia, and four others stood trial for illegal business dealings in Beijing. It is believed that their crimes are related to the winning of large-money contracts. Ding herself is reported to have profited from a number of railway projects linked to Liu Zhijun to the sum of 3 billion Yuan – as the saying goes: “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.

4) Guangdong official who posed with Thai Ladyboys not suspended
Contrary to reports by various media outlets, the Party Secretary of Xinglong Village who was recently shown fondling transvestites and engaging in other illegal activity while on holiday in Thailand, was not actually sacked or punished. All that’s known is that he had to make a “self-criticism” in writing, much to the disappointment of the whistleblower who posted the photos of him online and his/her growing supporters.
 

Related links
Friday Follow-up: Fake Rags to Riches, Tarantino Film Halt & More
Friday Follow-up: Pigs & Bird Flu, Tax Lies, Manholes & More
The Great Urban-Youth Stereotypes of Modern China

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Keywords: H7N9 Friday follow-up former railway minister

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