Zhao was transferring to a Wenzhou flight at Beijing Airport at noon on August 21 when she was stopped at airport security. A worker told the woman in her forties that she was not able to bring the imported cognac through the security checkpoint in her carry-on. As it was too late to transfer the cognac to her checked-in luggage, Zhao did what any responsible person that hates wasting food would do: she sat down in a corner and drank the entire bottle of cognac herself.

That created a new security problem though, and it had to do with the bottle of cognac that was now inside her.

Zhao started acting wildly and yelling incoherently. Due to her massive inebriation, when Zhao fell to the floor, that’s where she stayed. When police arrived at the scene, they decided not to let her board her flight out of concern that she had become a security risk to others and herself as Zhao was travelling alone.

Zhao was taken to a convalescence room and was checked out by a doctor. It wasn’t until 7pm when she sobered up and realized what she had done. Zhao was eventually released by police to her family who had come to Beijing Airport to escort her home.

Hard choices have been made before at security checkpoints in Chinese airports. This past June, two brothers were stopped at the security checkpoint at Guangzhou Airport for having wine stashed in their carry-on. The brothers explained that this wine had special medicinal properties used to help male fertility. However, the security workers were adamant in enforcing regulations, and so the brothers decided to drink the RMB 8,000 bottle of wine themselves (below).

And if you’re thinking this would make a funny scene in a Chinese movie, well, it already has been. In Xu Zheng’s breakout hit Lost on Journey (2010), Wang Baoqiang’s yokel character is prevented by airport security from bringing a drink onto the airplane, so he decides to drink it himself. Of course, the distinction here is that Wang’s character chugs down an entire bottle of milk.

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Hulled barley liquors with gold and silver flakes on sale on Taobao.

China is in the midst of debating the merits of adding gold flakes to Chinese bottles of baijiu, the country’s popular rice wine, while some producers have done an end-run around the debate and have started adding silver flakes instead.

An online shop on China’s biggest e-commerce website Taobao has been selling well-packaged liquor with gold and silver flakes even though no decision has been made on whether the additives should be allowed. The online shop sells two kinds of baijiu with gold flakes and silver flakes for RMB 168. The additives are clearly stated on the bottle: “hulled barley, peas, gold flakes and silver flakes…” The shop says it has 795 cases in stock, and another shop selling similar products says it had 1,135 cases as of Friday.

Similar products from Japan and Germany were also available on Taobao and JD.com, another Chinese e-commerce website.

Liquor with gold flakes

Officials from the National Health and Family Planning Commission are still soliciting public opinions on whether gold should be allowed as a food additive to Chinese baijiu. If passed, 0.02 grams of 99.99 percent pure gold would be permitted in every one kilogram of liquor. The deadline for submitting public opinions is February 20, but the subject of silver as food additive was absent in the proposal. That has created a possible loophole although silver is less popular in China.

Health experts noted that adding gold has no notable health benefits, nor significant adverse impacts. That has left experts wondering why people would add gold in the first place. “We have received the notice for soliciting public opinion, but I don’t understand what’s point of adding gold to liquor?”“We have received the notice for soliciting public opinion, but I don’t understand what’s point of adding gold to liquor?” commented Ma Yong, executive vice president of the China National Food Industry Association and National Baijiu Committee.

A veteran baijiu drinker surnamed Zhao told the newspaper it seems to be all for show. “(It’s) glittery, adds to one’s face. But the taste is nothing different from regular baijiu.”

Online users speculated on why there is demand for gold in the wine. 五大欠 commented, “This is a good gift to be presented to the officials.”

Another user blatantly called out the decision-makers behind the proposal: “This is what well-fed big-bellied people do? If they had the time, why not supervise food quality? (Expletive), how much tax money do we have to pay to feed those brain-damaged people?”

The post Forget Wearing Gold, Now China’s Rich are Drinking It appeared first on The Nanfang.

The latest victim of China’s alcohol-soaked “ganbei” or “bottoms up” culture has been given a hero’s funeral. Zhu Ling, a local police officer in Anhui Province, died after drinking excessively at a police banquet and then falling down the stairs. According to a report in Nandu, that didn’t stop the police force from honoring him as an officer who died “in the line of duty”.

The “honor” could earn Zhu Ling’s family as much as RMB 13 million (US$2.1 million) in compensation. However, the package is subject to Zhu’s family signing a waiver absolving the local police bureau and the officers in attendance at the banquet of any liability.

In January, Zhu was sent to the Shanli Police Bureau for an exchange study along with four other police officers. The local bureau arranged a so-called “work dinner” upon their arrival. Thirteen police officers attended the banquet and eight of them drank a total of six bottles of rice spirits and 11 bottles of beer, according to a report by People’s Daily.

A copy of the agreement that would ask Zhu’s family to absolve the local police bureau of any responsibility.

Following the banquet, Zhu fell down a flight of stairs and landed on his head. He was pronounced dead on June 13 after more than five months of treatment.

Qimen County Police Bureau, which overseas the Shanli Police Bureau, offered the compensation which included RMB 7 million of work compensation and RMB 6 million in civil compensation from accompanying officers. While the incident occurred some time ago, the story has only recently come to public attention due to Zhu’s family going to the press.

Predictably, the news has caused an uproar on the Internet. One Weibo user wrote “(Expletive), drinking with leaders and indulging in corrupt activities is now called a duty! Laobaixing (ordinary people) pay for the bills, and now even the RMB 13 million compensation is from the laobaoxing. Why are Chinese laobaixing always wronged?”

The head of the Shanli Police Bureau was fired following the incident. After almost seven months of investigation, Zhu’s family still hasn’t received the results, according to People’s Daily.

 Photos: People’s Daily; Xinhua

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