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Culture

A couple walk through the People’s Park in Shanghai, China, on August 9, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE
Apps

Dating apps with Chinese characteristics draw Gen Z and millennials

Young romance seekers in China flock to a new breed of dating services designed to fill the gaps left by existing apps like Tinder and Grindr.

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Chinese influencers

Internet celebrities offering rustic escapism get a government boost

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TV shows and streaming video

Bilibili’s New Year’s show gets airtime on TVB after fireworks axed

Baidu

Baidu’s top 2020 internet buzzwords reveal new work-related anxieties

The annual Baidu Buzz List shows people searched for new terms like ‘flexible work’, ‘cloud supervisors’ and ‘715’, revealing changes to work and everyday life in China amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year’s Baidu Buzz List list includes new internet slang illustrating the anxieties of workers in China as the coronavirus upended businesses and forced “flexible” schedules on people nationwide. Photo: AP
This year’s Baidu Buzz List list includes new internet slang illustrating the anxieties of workers in China as the coronavirus upended businesses and forced “flexible” schedules on people nationwide. Photo: AP
Social media

Want to be a Chinese diplomat? Program emulates ‘Wolf Warrior’ rhetoric

Chinese diplomats have been taking a more aggressive stance on Twitter this year and a GitHub text generator is here to help.

TV shows and streaming video

First price hikes on China’s video platforms spark doubts

As Tencent Video and iQiyi users face higher prices for the first time, some complain that user experience on the streaming platforms does not justify the price hike.

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Cinema

Netflix’s Over the Moon praised in China but bigger box-office bomb than Mulan

With an all-Asian cast, Netflix’s new animated film is being applauded for its handling of Chinese culture, but it has failed to attract a wide audience.

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Netflix’s Over the Moon tells the story of a Chinese girl who builds a rocket to the Moon to prove that the Moon goddess Chang’e really exists. Image: Netflix
Netflix’s Over the Moon tells the story of a Chinese girl who builds a rocket to the Moon to prove that the Moon goddess Chang’e really exists. Image: Netflix
China technology

China’s first virtual idol talent show draws mixed reactions

Video streaming platform iQiyi is trying to connect with younger users by letting virtual avatars compete in front of human judges on the show Dimension Nova.

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Smartphones

Men more prone than women to phone addiction, China study says

Researchers look at residents in Beijing to study smartphone addiction, often defined as stressful phone use that leads to anxiety and depression.

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Cinema

China’s new Mulan film upsets audiences more than Disney’s

Kung Fu Mulan was pulled from cinemas within three days after opening on Saturday to terrible reviews and poor turnout.

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Kung Fu Mulan, a 3D animated film from Chinese studio Gold Valley Films, was pulled from cinemas in China three days after its release. Image: Gold Valley Films
Huawei

Workers who got Huawei’s foldable Mate Xs free promptly sell them online

After 10,000 Tencent employees reportedly got Huawei’s new foldable Mate Xs smartphone, additional listings started showing up online.

Tencent rewarded its staff with an extravagant gift this year: the foldable Huawei Mate Xs. Photo: Shutterstock
Tencent rewarded its staff with an extravagant gift this year: the foldable Huawei Mate Xs. Photo: Shutterstock
E-commerce

Shanghai tackles China’s massive e-commerce waste problem

China is on track to have packaging waste as heavy as more than 400 aircraft carriers by 2025.

Didi Chuxing

This is the worst day to hail a taxi in China, but Didi says it’s ready

Didi says there’s less than a 60 per cent chance of successfully hailing a taxi the day before China’s week-long national holiday.

Trending in China

A teacher’s bid to explain pregnancy to kids hits a nerve in China

Sex education remains taboo in Chinese schools despite efforts from educators and publishers.

A viral debate kicked off online in China after a parent reportedly complained about her daughter’s teacher, who explained to a primary school class how women get pregnant. Photo: Shutterstock
Facebook

How a Chinese network of fake accounts infiltrated Facebook

This is the first time that Facebook has taken down Chinese-based accounts for foreign interference and engagement in US politics.

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Facebook said on Tuesday it had removed a network of inauthentic Chinese accounts that were interfering in Asian and American politics.
Facebook said on Tuesday it had removed a network of inauthentic Chinese accounts that were interfering in Asian and American politics.
China technology

5G and smart speakers are widening China’s digital divide

China’s rural residents under 18 years old are less likely to have used smartwatches, voice assistants and computers to get online, new study says.

Disney

Mulan hit by rampant piracy in China yet again

Mulan was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times ahead of its theatrical debut, mirroring rampant piracy of the animated version in 1999.

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US-listed Chinese stocks

Alibaba crooner Jack Ma duets with pop diva Faye Wong

The Alibaba founder is famed for his flamboyant performances and love for the stage.

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Alibaba founder Jack Ma performs a duet with Canto-pop diva Faye Wong in a duet on September 9. Picture: Youku
Alibaba founder Jack Ma performs a duet with Canto-pop diva Faye Wong in a duet on September 9. Picture: Youku
Censorship

Chinese netizens post bad reviews for Hong Kong security law book

Douban is known for its community of liberal bookworms and film fanatics, but censorship is common on China’s internet platforms.

Disney

Disney’s Mulan compared with Western Chinese food

Disney’s Mulan was highly-anticipated in China, but now the live-action remake is disappointing early viewers who are blasting it online.

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Scams and swindles

Gambling platforms are using empty boxes to launder money in China

Police uncovered 2,700 websites involved in empty package schemes that are used for money laundering.

So-called empty package scams don’t even need the packages anymore. Fake tracking codes are used to launder money across borders. Photo: Nora Tam
Disney

Disney’s Mulan finally arrives in Chinese cinemas on September 11

Disney bets on a star cast and a beloved ancient tale to win the hearts of film-goers in the world’s second largest film market.

Liu Yifei in a still from Mulan, the new Disney live-action adaptation previously set to open in March. Image: Handout
Liu Yifei in a still from Mulan, the new Disney live-action adaptation previously set to open in March. Image: Handout
Netflix

Fans of The Three-Body Problem are nervous about Netflix adaptation

The highly-acclaimed science fiction trilogy is coming to Netflix, but some Chinese readers of the original books fear the show will be Westernised.

TV shows and streaming video

Why China is becoming a nation of cord-cutters

Deregulation in 2014 brought sports to streaming services, permanently changing the industry.

Censorship

From ‘sick man’ to ‘bioweapon’: How WeChat censored the Covid-19 pandemic

Researchers from the University of Toronto catalogued censored keywords from January to May, including some related to missing tycoon Ren Zhiqiang and unfounded allegations against a Wuhan laboratory.

A medical worker wearing a full protective outfit tests a man for the novel coronavirus at a hospital in Beijing, China, 14 July 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE
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