Society

A recent case of sexual assault involving an Alibaba employee has once again turned the spotlight on the business drinking culture in China. Zaobao’s China Desk looks into the prevalent issue that does not seem likely to change anytime soon.

The world seems divided on whether to aim for zero Covid-19 infections, or to treat it as endemic and live with it. Zaobao’s Shanghai correspondent Chen Jing notes that amid a resurgence of infections, experts believe that China is well-placed to aim for zero cases, albeit with some trade-offs.

Chinese society is facing the debate of whether to aim for "zero-Covid" or to "live with the virus", with its former health minister Gao Qiang and top infectious diseases expert Zhang Wenhong offering opposing views. While the West believes that the world needs to live with an endemic Covid-19, China is still adopting a zero-Covid stance. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk puts together the arguments and concludes that for China, the zero-Covid stance is here to stay. Why is China determined to achieve zero-Covid?

Kris Wu has been detained by the police in Beijing. His social media accounts are deleted from Chinese social media platforms, wiping out the star's online presence. While this is not the first time Wu is embroiled in sex scandals, it is the first time he is detained. Who are the benefactors and financial powers behind China's top celebrities like Wu? And what does this mean for China's crackdown on big capital?

Despite slogans and sayings about how China has progressed and become “amazing” or “self-sufficient”, making strides in eradicating absolute poverty does not equate to rising affluence on the whole. Looking at GDP per capita figures, China still has some way to go, says researcher Chen Hongbin. He notes that the Chinese people should not get caught up in their own rhetoric, but keep a clear head and be aware of the actual situation.

A recent article in China harshly criticised online gaming as a “spiritual opium”, leading to speculation that online gaming, as well as gaming companies such as Tencent, might be the next target of China’s regulatory agencies. Zaobao’s China Desk takes a closer look at what might be in store.

Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk examines China’s obsession with Olympic gold, whether for sports or geopolitical reasons. Chinese netizens are gaining notoriety for their sometimes searing comments on Chinese and foreign Olympians. Meanwhile, China's state media is busy steering public opinion towards being less fixated on gold medals and to have a more holistic view of the Olympic Games. Not only that, young Chinese Olympians are being profiled and praised. Could the positivity and dynamism of the post-00s generation be the best face of China’s future?

Around 400 to 500 million Chinese citizens are thought to enjoy a middle-class lifestyle today. They are an important political and economic force but their political outlook and worldviews are neither homogeneous nor clear-cut. Many of them share certain cosmopolitan values, but some among them are also those with the most strident nationalistic views. How will this key demographic influence China’s relations with the US and the world? Professor Li Cheng, author of Middle Class Shanghai: Reshaping US-China Engagement, tells us more.

A week into the Tokyo Olympics and the Chinese internet is already a minefield of anti-Japan sentiments. Displeasure ranges from Japan’s win over China in the table-tennis mixed doubles to perceived slights against China. By playing the nationalism card, Chinese netizens are not doing China any favours in the run-up to next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics.