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 a revelation that the compelling rags to riches story of a beggar from Wenzhou was actually fictional, a sudden halt of the screening of Tarantino’s “Django Unchained”, more legal trouble for the former Railway Minister, false H7N9 rumors and a sentence for the old man who grew opium in his backyard.

1) Wenzhou Beggar’s Rags to Riches Tale Not True
It was such a compelling story: a man called Zhu Jing who ended up begging across the country for nine years, too ashamed to return to his hometown Wenzhou, eventually returned home following an illness only to discover that 7 million Yuan worth of compensation was written in his name. But this rags-to-riches tale is not what it seems.

According to a reporter who spoke to Zhu Jing’s brother Zhu Zhong, no property of theirs was demolished and no compensation in the sum of 7 million ever existed. In fact, Zhu Jing’s real name is Zhu Jingxiu and he left his hometown after his wife divorced him.

And as for his escapades as a beggar and societal loser during the past decade, well that’s not entirely true either. After he left in 2003, he took up a number of jobs across the country including driving a taxi in Xi’an, working as a security guard in Baoji City in Shaanxi, working in an illegal brick kiln in Zhengzhou and becoming a mine worker in Luoyang where he unfortunately contracted lung disease. After working in a hotel for a while in 2010, Zhu’s illness got too severe and he could no longer work, which is when he started begging on the streets.

So how did this story come into being in the first place? That seems to be the biggest mystery of this story. The reporter asked the Pingyang County Propaganda Department about this online story, and nobody there seemed to know how this fake story got out or why it went viral.

2) Theatrical Release of Tarantino’s “Django Unchain” Halted
It was due to be a cinematic milestone in China’s history, everyone applauded the decision, and the nation momentarily had been naïve enough to believe the censors were relaxing – Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” was set to become the celebrated director’s first film to receive theatrical release in China when it opened in cinemas on April 11.

But the joy was short lived.  On April 11, the day it was due to hit theaters, an announcement was made to say the film had been suspended “due to technical reasons”. There’s been no comment from Sony yet, or word on when, if at all, the “technical issues” will be fixed.

Netizens were quick to react to the news, and a general air of disappointment has been sweeping across the net. According to an article on Sina.com, one netizen was quoted as saying, “Cinemas are stating that the screening halt is due to technical reasons, but someone else in the industry has revealed that the film has been cut due to nude scenes of Jamie Foxx’s genitals”.

3) More (Non-Sex Related) Trouble for Former Railway Minister
Remember that article we wrote about how the former Railway Minister Liu Zhijun slept with the ENTIRE female cast of the TV show “Dream of the Red Chamber”? Well, the scandal doesn’t end there. According to an announcement by authorities on April 10, Liu Zhijun has been officially charged with bribery and abuse of power. It seems that not only did he fancy young female actors, he also took pleasure in accepting massive hongbaos and is accused of causing rampant corruption in the railway industry.

4)  Guangdong Opium Planter Caught and Sentenced
The old man from Meihua County in Guangdong who owned a plot of opium poppies has been sentenced following a short stint on the run. A total of 4312 plants were discovered on his land and he was subsequently given a five year suspended sentence and was also fined 3000 RMB.

5) Latest in H7N9 news: Several people arrested for spreading false rumors
While the country nervously continues to follow the development of the H7N9 virus, a man in Xi’an decided to use the incident as a way to boost his popularity on popular social networking site QQ. On April 7, police investigated a post on QQ that stated that H7N9 has been discovered in Xi’an and has already led to death of dozens of people.

However, the Shanxi Province Center for Disease Control quickly verified that this post was in fact false. That very evening, the man responsible for the post was arrested, admitting to fabricating the whole thing to get more notice online.

In fact, this was not an isolated case. At least five others across China have been arrested since April 8 for spreading similar rumors online.
 

Related links:
Friday Follow-up: Pigs & Bird Flu, Tax Lies, Manholes & More
China Suspends Crude Oil Sales to North Korea: What Does it Mean?
Relaxing or Restricting? China’s Music Censors Confuse Yet Again

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