Women attending one of the Women’s Virtue Classes

Dongguan has cancelled a class that taught women to tolerate domestic violence after critics said the class was chauvinistic and twisted traditional Chinese culture, New Express Daily reported.

The controversial “Women’s Virtue Class” that targeted women from teenage girls to women in their 70s had asked its students to strictly adhere to its four basic principles: never fight back when beaten, never talk back when verbally assaulted, take it as it as and never file for divorce.

The class came to light after a women’s organization went undercover at the school, Tencent reported. Song Yuping, a student that took the class, said she was taught a woman can suffer from headaches, arthritis, heart disease and thrombosis if she does not care for her father-in-law and husband. Conversely, absolute obedience to a husband can eventually cure lung cancer and albinism.

Following an investigation into the program by local authorities, Dongguan’s propaganda department announced the class has been officially shut down. An investigation found “its teaching curriculum was against social morals, and its class was run without a legal license,” the report said.

The Mengzheng Chinese Study Academy ran the women’s virtue class annually in 12 separate sessions, each of which was filled with 50 students. In addition to Dongguan, similar classes were taught in Beijing as well as Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and Hainan provinces, Chinese National Radio reported earlier.

Most of the teaching materials were loosely based on Confucius classics. The popular class suggested “some modern women are desperate and hopeless when facing a family crisis. They can’t solve their immediate problems, and instead turn to those brainwashing women’s virtues to hypnotize themselves (for temporary relief)”, Jiang Jingjing, a commentator told Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily.

Photos: Wen Wei Po

It’s one thing to criticize China’s national soccer team, which has an abysmal record. It’s another to take aim at its cheerleaders, the girls who jump up and down, waving pom-poms to cheer them on. But that’s what Nandu, a newspaper in south China, has done.

It filed a report saying while China’s football team is bad, it’s cheerleaders are equally as a bad. Photographs of the country’s football cheerleaders are always showing girls with distorted faces and their mouths agape, the newspaper wrote. “[Their appearance] prevents the public from looking at them further,” it wrote.

In contrast, the cheerleaders on the basketball court are always gorgeous, smiling, attractive and sexy, it said. So why do the ugly ducklings end up on the soccer pitch? The paper said because fans in football stadiums sit further away, they aren’t close enough to see the girls clearly. If the audience is going to have a hard time seeing their faces, why bother to find beautiful ones?

The second reason the newspaper gave is that football cheerleaders often perform outdoors, which means a gust of wind or inclement weather could cancel out their efforts at looking beautiful. This makes it harder to look good and perform well outdoors, the report said.

So what do you think? Is this characterization of Chinese football cheerleaders unfair? Here are some photos.

Photos: Nandu

The organizer of the car show fired the model, Xiaowang, admitting openly that she was dismissed because her breasts were “a problem” and were not up to his organization’s standards. The problem, at least for him, is the model was fired after she had signed a four-day contract, and had already worked the first day.

The university student and part-time model was incensed at the breach of contract, so came back to the car show with a TV news program in tow. They tracked down this guy, named Xie:

Breasts, it was a problem with her breasts
We had already accepted her,
(and then we found) there were many layers of padding (inside her bra)
to prop it up
But there was no way, all we could do was fire her

Xie said he was forced to go with another model with better “experience” that can fill in the role.

Xie was unwilling to pay Xiaowang the complete salary for four days of work according to the signed contract, instead paying her for three days.

Video of the exchange can be seen below, but Xie doesn’t go into detail about any of his explanations.

Photo: Sina News Video

When women enter beauty pageants, they are essentially putting their bodies out there for judges to render their verdict. But some might not be aware the judging doesn’t stop at the official judges table.

Netizens have ganged up on contestants for the Miss Asia pageant in Guangzhou, with many ugly comments circulating online. So many people have taken part in the bashing that it’s become a trending topic on Sina Weibo.

Here are some of the comments about the photographs (placed here in no particular order unless a contestant’s number is specifically mentioned):

老佛爷来了来了：
Each one is scary. [sweat.emo]

南粤乔木：
Unemployed workers in Dongguan changing careers and looking to become the new Miss Asia?

Parker-Ave：
Is it just me who lingered on #2 for a while, and then quickly browsed through the rest?

王思聪外甥：
Contestant #2 is alright.

芬尼杨格：
(Allow me to bring up the) crackdown on Dongguan. So, what do you guys want to do: still want to continue looking, or not?

很明显是我：
These are all without make-up, right? Sooo beautiful. [cool.emo]

宇宙无敌小蛮吉：
Husband, based upon the the quality seen here, you’re able to marry a champion and bring her back home.

Varuni-Koo：
Who was it that tricked me by saying beauty pageant contestants all have hot figures?

广州城堡堡主:
I couldn’t help myself from clicking on the picture, and now I strongly suggest other users to never ever do the same. [sick.emo]

鹏城曹鹏：
Who was it that said that Chinese men aren’t good looking?

LEODANLING系长裙控：
Guangzhou has lots of beautiful girls, its just that none of them are interested in participating in a beauty pageant.

逸绝尘-snda：
This is the last stop for my cheap hand. (Meaning that since the hand is cheap, it has clicked on something a non-cheap hand wouldn’t have.)

cheerysky111：
All I can say is that they are very ugly.

yl安晴：
Would a true beauty have to lower herself to participate in something like this?

荷塘夏色柳林风声：
They look like men.

辣椒和薄荷叶：
They’re fat. It’s clear that they aren’t in the habit of exercising.

穿马甲的小羊：
Disaster.

枝丸子丶：
They’re ladyboys.

And so, it seems like the most empowering thing about putting on a swimsuit and having your picture published online in China is to become a subject for complaints.

Here are more photos:

Photos: Weibo (2, 3)

A car wash in Chaoyang District of Beijing is now offering its clients a special, priority service. For the low low price of RMB 880, clients can watch as bikini-clad attendants wash the car, providing care and attention to all of your tailpipes and rims. The catch? It’s by appointment only.

One could see this as a shrewd marketing move, but the origins of this service are much more humble: it started because clients wanted it.

We’re sure there’s some logic there, somewhere: you’ve amassed a fortune in order to purchase an extremely expensive luxury item, and now you want to pay top dollar to have someone take care of your investment based upon how skimpy their work uniform is.

Check out the photos below.

Photos: Asia Today, People’s Daily Online

This is not the model advocating “pink holidays” at Sun Yat-sen University.

Women have been fighting to achieve equality for a long time in China. Now, with the help of a campaign at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Chinese women may finally get what they’ve always wanted: days off from work every month in order to recover from their menstrual cycle.

Colloquially known as a “pink holiday”, the concept was the brainchild of nine MBA students who were discussing the special needs of women workers when the issue of a woman’s period came up. The group concluded that “it would be best to let (women) recover at home”.

READ: Check Out this Pink, Extra-Wide “Women’s Only” Parking Spot in Dalian

To raise awareness for the campaign, the students organized an activity on the university campus in which inspiring phrases, such as these, were written on male models:

Women are like flowers, please cherish and take care of them.

The petition did not examine whether women’s salaries should reflect their increased time off, or how it could lead to discrimination.

READ: Sexist Guangdong Official Puts Foot In Mouth, Leaves It There

If “pink holidays” ever become law in China, we imagine the famous saying would have to be amended to “holding up half the sky—except when she’s on her period”.

Photo: China.com.cn

As noted by a reporter, the special “women’s only” parking space is also conveniently located near the entrance of the mall for added convenience.

Whether this is utterly sexist or completely sweet is a debate we’ll leave to you. But one female visitor in Dalian said, “The people of Dalian are really romantic!”

Driver Miss Liu also expressed her gratitude:

Having this kind of spot available has made it so much more convenient. Not only is it easier to park, it saves me time to when trying to find a spot.

Yang Xiangdong, manager of the shopping mall, said the spots are not discriminatory against women:

The main position of this mall is to provide service to women. As well, here we have a children’s amusement center that many of our female clients use.

Reaction on Weibo has been mixed, with comments with accusations of sexism and others that welcome concessions for the “fairer sex”.

elegantfor：
You don’t even have the skill (to drive properly), and yet you have the gall to ask others to give you priority benefits

李唔直捅蛤：
This will be the future scene of a massacre

大龄女青年不二兔子：
Is this for real? Don’t disrespect your female compatriots.

MARY爱抽风：
This is done with loving sentiment. Shenzhen, hurry up and do the same. [heart.emo]

W小强非小强Q：
There shouldn’t be any difference between a male and female driver! For our safety! The loving considerations of society should not be making concession that have anything to do with public safety.

Chesterxxxxx：
Does this concede that there is a lack of skill (for women drivers)?

Photo: Yangtse

[This story contains violent and graphic images that may offend some readers]

UPDATE: Several of the details provided here are out of date, and have been compiled in another story, “McDonald’s Cult Leader Gets TV Interview, More Details of Deadly Attack Emerge“]

This is a terrible story, and does not end well.

Miss Wu has out having dinner at McDonald’s on May 28 in Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province.

Mr Zhang was also at that McDonald’s. Zhang was there having dinner with his friends, and upon seeing Wu, Zhang asked her for her phone number. Wu refused, and perhaps because he had lost face in front of his friends, Zhang may not have reacted well to this rejection.

An argument broke out. Then, a physical dispute. Then, all of Zhang’s friends joined in. They beat her, violently. As described by a Weibo user named @无主蜜桃 who was an eyewitness, Zhang and his friends kicked her in the head when Wu was lying on the ground. Then, they used an iron bar to strike her head. They continued until the iron bar broke.

Emergency responders confirmed that Wu died at the scene. Except for this very brief and violent conflict, Wu and Zhang were total strangers.

The Weibo eyewitness describes this incident occurring from 9:10pm to 9:30pm. The McDonald’s is located across the street from a local police station.

No one was reported to have tried to help the victim.

Here is some live video at the scene, but it is very shaky and does not show many details. However, it does align with what a number of bystanders said they saw.

UPDATE 11:52am May 31, 2014. The People’s Daily Online has a very different take on this story, reporting the six people involved in the attack as all part of an “evil cult” who were trying to enlist a new member.

Of the people arrested, one is still a minor and can’t be charged as an adult. The rest will be charged with intentional homicide.

CCTV reports that the attackers had warned spectators to refrain from intervening by saying, “We’ll kill anyone who gets involved!” as well as saying horrible things to the victim like “[once I kill you,] you’ll never come back in the next life”.

Photos: Weibo (2)

On January 16 at a panel discussion hosted by the Guangdong Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body to the government,  a CPPCC member named Luo Biliang said: “If female PhDs did not try to find a husband, it would be quite serious.”

To better illustrate his point, Luo made a comparison. “A woman is a product,” Luo said, “Having tried for more than 20 years to sell yourself, one has failed to strike a deal.”

Luo’s selfless sharing of his wisdom did not stop there. Luo continued by saying, “From a relationship perspective, getting a doctoral degree does not help add value (to a woman); instead, it’s a devaluation.”

CPPCC member Luo Zhiliang (Photo credit: tdzyw.com)

It’s not surprising Luo’s tawdry, sexist comments have sparked outcries from women PhD holders and women’s rights groups in the country. After all, CPPCC members are trained to make outrageous comments at the annual two sessions, and the public has developed a certain threshold for their absurdities (some of them can be found here in this WSJ article). Nonetheless, a womens’ studies center at South China Normal University and several womens’ rights organisations held press conferences denouncing Luo’s comments as well as citing gender equality-related articles from the country’s constitution and other international regulations. They have also contributed to an angry petition sent to the Guangdong CPPCC.

But what’s surprising here is neither the provincial CPPCC nor Luo have expressed any apology over the comments, and have defined the whole incident as a “misunderstanding,” subtly hinting that the women are making a big fuss over it.

Four months later on May 8, the women’s studies center received a delayed written reply from the CPPCC. The provincial CPPCC said it has reminded Luo to be more aware of the occasions when he makes comments to “avoid making unnecessary misunderstanding,” Guangzhou Daily reported on May 13.

photo credit: Sohu

The CPPCC made a point in the letter by reiterating that the whole incident was a “misunderstanding” and called for an adherence of the “Three Don’ts” policy, namely: “Don’t use a big stick, don’t label people, and don’t pick on others’ faults”, Communist jargon that advocates for greater tolerance.

Luo, on the other hand, was much more resolute in his response. Back in January, he defended himself and told the public that nothing he said was wrong. In fact, he said his comments were made on the theory of the “marriage market”, something that ordinary minds like the female PhDs were obviously too slow to understand. Let’s not forget that Luo is the dean of the Economics and Management Department at the South China Agricultural University in Guangdong, and he certainly did not miss any chance to show off his advanced economics intelligence at any occasion.

Perhaps, it is the people who are angry about the reaction from Luo and the provincial department who should be sorry: sorry for having too many expectations from CPPCC officials; sorry for being too concerned about the country’s gender equality; and sorry for not showing “greater tolerance” over a sexist comment.

Home page photo credit: Sohu