Tuesday morning, after returning to China, Chen Guangbiao visited the grave of Lei Feng, a person revered by Chinese people because he epitomizes the highest possible morals and achievements that a Chinese person can hold. As Chen kowtowed and offered flowers, he laid down a copy of the New York Times that told of his great deeds performed in New York, reported Sina Finance.

Chen said he wanted to report his good deeds to Lei Feng, and show how his philanthropy had made headlines worldwide. But even Chen admits his mention in the New York Times was due to an advertisement that he personally paid for.

Chen said the goal of his US visit was to spread the teachings of Lei Feng to Americans; things like the importance of being industrious, hardworking, selfless, and patriotic. He even stressed how seriously he took his kowtowing at Lei Feng’s tomb:

I gave Uncle Lei Feng three bows of the head. Each of my kowtows were heavy blows to my head. If you were standing next to me as I did it, you could hear me banging my head. Bang! Bang! BANG!

READ: Unable to Buy the New York Times, Chen Guangbiao to Treat New Yorkers

Chen then went on to call his New York trip 90% successful since he was able to achieve all of his goals:

I brought the virtue of the Chinese people to the USA and was able to change the image of the wealthy Chinese person. Also, I was able to express my opinion on the transformation of the Chinese economy, and that the Chinese economy will not breakdown. I was also able to treat the homeless to lunch, and so was able to introduce the spirit of Lei Feng to US citizens.

Those unfamiliar with Chen’s goals can read about them in his New York Times ad.

But not everything went according to plan. Chen explained why his planned lunch for 1,000 homeless people had to be scaled back to 250 at the last minute:

That’s because the NYC police would not allow it, and so we had to cancel it. I originally wanted to hold it in restaurant of the boathouse of Central Park with 300 people inside, and 700 people outside on the lawn. However, NYCPD was afraid something would happen and didn’t let us hold a banquet on the lawn.

Chen had also promised to give homeless Americans $300 each, but decided against it after strong objections in the US. He said despite not handing out the money, he didn’t break his promise:

I’ve already honored my commitment. I’ve given the money that was going to go to the 700 people to two homeless shelters. However, they don’t want to announce it to the public, and so I’ve honored their intentions. $210,000, I verify that I’ve honored my committment, and I have the receipt to prove it.

Vice reports that the homeless shelter that received the donation has been named, and it’s the same shelter that was hosting the event in the first place: the New York City Rescue Mission.

But perhaps the most humiliating moment was when Chen was rejected when trying to give money away. Chen explains:

This is a misunderstanding of the media. Many reporters were constantly following me. Right in front of the homeless shelter, I saw a vendor who was blowing bubbles and selling backpacks. I wanted to purchase something in order to help him. I bowed, and offered a hundred dollar bill with both of my hands. I said, I want to buy something from you, please keep the change. My translator translated this for him. However, because he saw so many reporters, so many cameras pointed his way, he probably thought that the chengguan (city management enforcement workers in China) were out to capture him, and so he left. There are chengguan in the USA as well. He wasn’t a homeless man, everyone there at the scene knew this. However, the media made this rumor afterwards saying that I had been rejected by a homeless person.

Unfortunately for the homeless people who still want to take Chen Guangbiao up on a raincheck, he won’t be going back to the USA anytime soon to perform his acts of charity. Rather, Chen now has his sights set on Africa.

Photo: Global Times, QQ, Sina Finance, NY Post

On May 28, an “Emergency Response Class” was held at Futian Amalgamated Middle School under the direction of police officer Li. Students were first shown a US anti-terrorism short film about Americans arriving at work and encountering a terrorist attack that may have been Die Hard.

Next, students were taught what to do during such an incident: run away, hide, don’t scream or to attract the attacker’s attention, and then later report it to a teacher or police officer. Students were given a chance to practice their new-found anti-terrorism skills when the school held a mock terrorist attack.

Pictures show a knife-wielding assailant that is disappointingly not wearing a black ski mask as depicted in every game of Counter-Strike, but was bald nonetheless and had the politeness to wear white gloves. The terrorist was subdued by school security guards and staff waiting for him to arrive using instruments that could only be described as “anti-terrorism short sticks”, “anti-terrorism long sticks” and “anti-terrorism shields” until he was finally taken away, smiling at a job well done.

Principal Guo Qijun said that the public should not to be scared of a terrorist attack and emphasized the need for more anti-terrorism drills.

There is no word as to whether every knife attack already reported will now be retroactively labeled as an “act of terrorism”.

Related:

• Knife Attack at Guangzhou Train Station Injures Six People [UPDATED]
• Knife Attack at Shenzhen North Station Watched by Crowd of Bystanders
• Heroes of Guangzhou Knife Attack: Migrant with Rod, Officials with Guns [UPDATED]
• [UPDATED] Three Dead After Unprovoked Knife Attack on Shenzhen Street
• Guangzhou Jittery After False Reports of Knife, Bomb Attacks

Photos: Yangcheng Evening Report via Weibo

A slew of American and British stores have been opening the PRD and Hong Kong in the past few years, giving shoppers a whole lot more choice when it comes to fashion.

The latest is American brand Forever 21, which recently threw open its doors at Coastal City mall in Shenzhen.  The 2000-square-foot store is the third shop to open in Mainland China, with the first two in Beijing and Shanghai.  Up until now, those wanting Forever 21 had to hop the border into Hong Kong, but that is increasingly becoming no longer necessary (via SCMP):

“Shenzhen shoppers looking for international fast fashion [high turnover] brands used to love going to shop in Hong Kong,” said Linda Lin Dan, retail services director in Shenzhen for property consultancy Colliers International.

“But since more of these brands began setting up their stores in Shenzhen in recent years … an increasing number of middle-class consumers are staying to shop in Shenzhen.”

Topshop opened a pop-up store in Shenzhen last year, and Topman opened last September. Meanwhile, Shenzhen was also the site for the first Apple store in China outside of Beijing and Shanghai.

There are still some reasons to pop across the border to Hong Kong though… it remains one of the few places in Asia with an Abercrombie and Fitch.

The fire department in Meizhou, in Guangdong Province, was mobilized to help one American man pull a ring off his finger. This, only days after a foreigner collapsed on the Guangzhou metro and was given CPR from a concerned metro attendant.

It all happened on Thursday (March 14), when an American couple were touring Guangdong. The man’s finger began to swell, apparently for no reason, and his ring became unmovable. In quite some pain, he went to a hardware shop for help, then went to the hospital, but nobody was able to get the ring off successfully.

Finally, they turned to a group of firefighters. By now, the man’s finger was seriously swollen and the skin was beginning to fester. The firefighters had a close look at the situation, then pulled out some tools to secure his finger in place and cut through the ring to release it. After some nervous moments, it worked.

The American visitor wanted to pay for the rescue, but the firefighters all said no. He then gave them the thumbs up and said “thank you” in Chinese.

Chill’s Bar (Photo from ThatsPRD)

Staff at Chill’s Bar in Shekou are recovering from having tens of thousands of yuan stolen from them by an American who fled the city last month, according to Shenzhen Daily. Real English, a nearby language training centre, was also a victim of the theft that has caused outrage across Shekou.

The bar on Haichang Street lost tens of thousands of yuan that was allegedly taken by the American who had opened Chill’s with partners last spring, just before opening Real English.

The paper reports:

“He took everything — even the staff’s tips,” said Danish businessman Kent Kristensen, a regular at Chill’s who said a friend of the American’s loaned him 20,000 yuan (US$3,211) the day before he disappeared.

The vanished American allegedly left unpaid bills, paychecks and debts at both businesses, while taking advance tuition payments from parents of students at Real English, which was forced to close.

People who knew the alleged thief, who is unidentified because police reports and actions have not been confirmed, said he emptied the bar’s cash register on his way out the door and even grabbed loans from friends before jetting, saying he needed help with renovations or family issues.

“I gave him a personal loan of 30,000 yuan,” said a baker in the neighborhood. “He said he was going to expand the business. I gave him the money on Saturday and he left on Sunday.”

The remaining staff at the bar are selling T-shirts with the American’s face on it in order to raise money to pay the bills, and pay back creditors.

Chill’s Bar used to be known as Burt’s, and has become a popular hot dog and hamburger hangout in the Shekou area.  Hopefully this guy is found, and people get their money back.