Tragic plane crash in Guangxi

A China Eastern Airlines flight crashed in Guangxi last Monday, killing all of the 132 passengers and crew onboard. This was the first major air crash in China since 2010. Flight MU5735 was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou, but instead crashed in the mountains in Tengxian county, Guangxi. The cause of the crash remains unknown, but both of the plane’s “black boxes,” which contain flight data, have been found and sent to Beijing for analysis. The disaster sparked grief and commemoration, as well as controversy: an article from Chinese magazine Portraits (Renwu) interviewing relations of the deceased, published on Tuesday afternoon, angered some netizens as intruding on grief. Local government are also investigating a Shanxi real estate company which used images of the tragedy to advertise their apartments.

Shanghai in two-stage lockdown

Today, Shanghai entered the first of a two-stage lockdown while authorities carry out mass Covid-19 testing. The eastern side of the city, with about 11 million residents will be locked down from March 28 until April 1, and the western side with 14 million residents will be locked down from April 1 to April 5. During this time all residential compounds will be closed, and people and vehicles are not allowed to exit neighborhoods. Shanghai has been battling a surge in Covid-19 cases for the past month, with many neighborhoods and residential compounds put in lockdown. On Saturday, the city reported over 2,600 new local asymptomatic cases. Last week, local government distributed self-testing kits to all residents for the first time.

Nurse dies of asthma, untreated due to Covid restrictions

A Shanghai nurse died from an asthma attack after being rejected from her own hospital’s ER room because it was closed for Covid-19 related disinfection. She was diverted to another hospital where she later passed away. As of Friday, 41 of Shanghai’s main hospitals had suspended some outpatient and emergency services because of pandemic-control measures. Her death triggered fierce criticism over the hospital’s response, with many referencing the case of a Xi’an woman who suffered a miscarriage in January after a hospital refused to treat her due to being from a medium-risk area. Health authorities vowed to keep healthcare services accessible after other cases of residents being denied medical care emerged.

P&G apologizes for sexism

Multinational consumer goods company Proctor and Gamble apologized online after being slammed for a sexist commercial. The company had published an article on their official WeChat account claiming women’s feet smell worse than men’s. Netizens criticized the company for disrespecting women, and called for a boycott of the brand. The post has since been deleted.

“Walking corpse” advertisement frightens shoppers

A renovation company in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, frightened shoppers with an advertising gimmick: having a parade of dummies dressed up as “walking corpses,” based an ancient myth of Daoist priests who reanimate corpses with spells in order transport them back to their hometowns for burial. The day was apparently windy, causing the dummies to bounce up and down like ancient Chinese “hopping zombies (jiāngshī).” The company has promised not to run this advertising campaign at night.

Yunnan woman finds ants in her coffee

A shop in Baoshan, Yunnan province, paid a customer 200 yuan compensation after the woman found her takeaway coffee was full of ants. The woman posted videos of the bizarre contents of the cup, after discovering it contained more than just her daily caffeine fix. The manager of the store apologized, claiming that a worker had added the “pickled ants, an ingredient of some Dai ethnicity dishes” by mistake.

Woman gives birth to quintuplets: one girl, four boys

Zhuang Jing, a 24-year-old woman Taian city, Shandong province, successfully gave birth to quintuplets after undergoing an hour-long cesarean section. The babies, one girl and five boys, were born prematurely, and are still being treated in hospital. Netizens were in awe of Zhuang and gave well-wishes to her babies.

Replacement arm bone made via 3D printing

Doctors in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, successfully implanted a 3D printed wrist bone into a patient suffering from a bone tumor. Without the 3D printed alternative, the patient’s hand would have been amputated, doctor’s said.

JD.com cuts jobs

E-commerce company JD.com is reportedly laying off 400 to 600 workers, mostly employees of its group-buying platform Jingxi Pinpin. Launched in 2019, Jingxi Pinpin has failed to compete with rivals such as Pinduoduo and Meituan.