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Society
1、8-year-old scared by R-rated movie, sparks debate on parental control
A cinema received a complaint on Aug 17 because an 8-year-old was scared by some scenes of the movie Alien: Romulus. The film, R-rated in the US (viewers under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian), has not been cut for its release in China, and warnings about its content for minors have been emphasized.
After the incident, large amounts of Chinese netizens flocked to Sina Weibo, plunging into the debate over whether children should be taken to watch horror movies in theaters. Several moviegoers said that the movie is definitely unsuitable for children and advised parents to be cautious in their choices as they are responsible for children's wellbeing.
A popular movie blogger commented, "The movie is clearly marked 'caution for underage viewers' on its posters, yet some parents still brought their children to watch it. Don't these parents do their homework?"
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202408/1318261.shtml
2、Lost China girl, 8, uses ATM for help, joyfully reunited with family, amusing many online
A quick-thinking Chinese girl who was lost figured out a way to get help without a mobile phone or asking a stranger in the street, earning praise on social media.
On July 30, the youngster, 8, became separated from her grandfather on the way home from her dancing class. However, she noticed an ATM booth nearby and pressed the red button beside the machine, which connected her with the bank’s monitoring centre.
A staff member from the bank answered the girl’s call through the intercom system, then alerted the police and told the girl to stay put while continuing to comfort her.
Officers from a police station soon arrived and the girl was reunited with her grandfather, who had been searching for her.
The online community praised the girl for her mental quickness and expressed surprise at the novel use of an ATM.
https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3274934/lost-china-girl-8-uses-atm-help-joyfully-reunited-family-amusing-many-online
3、Outage of Microsoft Office alternative disrupts work day in China
WPS Office, a suit of cloud-based office software sold by Chinese developer Kingsoft as an alternative to Microsoft Office, was down for hours on Wednesday, disrupting the operations of companies nationwide.
Social media reports of the outage began surfacing in the morning, as users took to the internet to complain about difficulties opening, syncing and uploading WPS documents.
At 3.33pm, Kingsoft announced on its Weibo account that WPS service had “resumed after emergency repairs by engineers”, without elaborating on the scope and reason for the breakdown. To placate users, the company is offering everyone a free 15-day membership.
The outage is the second one in China this week that involved a major online service. On Monday, NetEase Cloud Music, a music-streaming platform run by video gaming giant NetEase, experienced a widespread service failure that lasted over two hours. In the aftermath, the company gave users a free seven-day subscription.
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3275347/chinas-microsoft-office-alternative-wps-office-reports-widespread-outage
Technology
4、Black Myth: Wukong a global hit, milestone for China-made game
Long-awaited Chinese game Black Myth: Wukong, inspired by the story of Monkey King, topped PC gaming platform Steam's chart by a large margin after launch on Tuesday and triggered widespread discussions on its cultural implications.
With beautiful graphics and a new narrative based on the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West, the game Black Myth: Wukong has not only attracted core players, but also intrigued the public in China and around the world.
As China's first true AAA game - high development costs, long production cycles, and significant resource investment - Black Myth: Wukong represents a major breakthrough for the Chinese gaming industry, observers said.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202408/1318391.shtml
5、In China, Drones Are Now Delivering Takeout to the Great Wall
The Chinese tech giant Meituan recently rolled out a drone delivery service to the popular Badaling section of the Great Wall, , which will allow tourists to receive packages of food and medication while strolling the ramparts.
The new service — which is the first drone delivery route ever opened in Beijing — will not offer direct airdrops from merchants to customers, the company said. Instead, drones will fly along a fixed route from a depot to a landing site on the wall, with delivery workers hauling the packages from the merchants to the depot and then from the landing site to the customers.
Though drone delivery is new to Beijing, the technology has existed in other parts of China for several years. The e-commerce firm JD.com began trialing the country’s first aerial delivery vehicles in 2016. Meituan already operates 30 drone delivery routes, which have handled more than 300,000 orders.
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1015714
Business
6、Luckin Coffee eyes Southeast Asian and American markets in upcoming expansion
Luckin Coffee is planning an expansion plan in the fourth quarter with eyes mainly on Southeast Asian and American markets, media outlet LatePost reported on Monday, more than a year after the Chinese coffee chain opened its first international location in Singapore.
Luckin currently operates 38 franchised stores in Singapore, which the report said Luckin saw as its Southeast Asia headquarters as it took the brand to neighboring countries in the next three to five years.
Luckin’s overseas expansion is set to extend its competition with Cotti Coffee, founded by former Luckin executive Lu Zhengyao, beyond China’s borders.
Despite being founded five years after Luckin, Cotti has made aggressive steps overseas, with more than 7,000 stores across 28 countries, namely the US, Canada, Japan, and South Korea.
https://technode.com/2024/08/20/luckin-coffee-eyes-southeast-asian-and-american-markets-in-upcoming-expansion-report/
7、China's commerce ministry slams unfair EU tariffs on EVs
China opposes the European Commission's plan to slap import duties of up to 36.3 percent on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), and will take all necessary measures to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
Last month, the commission imposed provisional additional tariffs of up to 37.6 percent on Chinese EV makers, after it launched an anti-subsidy probe on Chinese EVs in October 2023.
On Tuesday, the commission published a draft plan to make those tariffs definitive, at slightly revised rates, subject to approval by EU member states.
The commission's anti-subsidy investigation process on Chinese EVs did not comply with the rules of the World Trade Organization and was an act of "unfair competition" under the guise of "fair competition," according to the spokesperson.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-21/China-s-commerce-ministry-slams-unfair-EU-tariffs-on-EVs-1weWCbPQRqM/p.html
Travel
8、Alipay Enhances China Travel for International Tourists with 16-Language App Upgrade
As Chinese inbound tourism gains momentum with the extension of its visa-free policy to more countries and the recovery of international flights, Alipay, the leading digital payment and lifestyle platform in China, now supports 16 languages on its App, further enhancing the travel experience of international tourists exploring China.
These languages include Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese.
This service upgrade enables international tourists, to explore China like a local with Alipay, using the language that they are familiar with.
For example, Italian tourists can download the Italian version of the Alipay App and enjoy mobile payment services in Italian while making offline payments in China. They can also enjoy frequently-used travel services such as hailing cars, booking hotels and purchasing plane and high-speed train tickets on the Alipay homepage in their native language, thanks to the App’s embedded translation tool.
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/alipay-enhances-china-travel-international-114900698.html
9、China reports 129.9-percent growth of foreign visitors this year
The number of foreign visitors to China soared 129.9 percent year on year to 17.25 million in the first seven months of this year thanks to a series of measures facilitating the entry of foreigners, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Monday.
The foreign visitors are estimated to have boosted consumption to over 100 billion yuan (about $14 billion) in total, with a per capita daily average consumption volume of nearly 3,500 yuan, said Liu Haitao, NIA deputy head, at a press conference.
During the period, 846,000 port visas were issued to foreign nationals who had an urgent need to enter China but did not have enough time to apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates abroad, Liu said. The figure rose 183 percent year on year.
From January to July, China recorded a total of 341 million cross-border trips, up 62.34 percent from the same period last year, Liu added.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-19/China-logs-17-25-million-inbound-trips-by-foreigners-this-year-1wbHMjkyNK8/p.html
10、First supermoon of 2024 illuminates skies across China
This year's first supermoon lit up the sky on August 19, setting a beautiful backdrop for nocturnal landscapes across China. A supermoon occurs when the full moon coincides with the closest point of its elliptical orbit around Earth, making it appear larger and brighter than a typical full moon. Astronomy enthusiasts can look forward to three more supermoons this year, occurring on September 18, October 17, and November 16.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-20/First-supermoon-of-2024-illuminates-skies-across-China-1wdJgRd8CFa/p.htm
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