中国Power !!!

[AnotherOneBitestheDust]

More victims found in forced blood donations

Xinhua, August 18, 2014

The number of victims forced to donate blood in northwest China's Gansu province has increased to 10.

More details are being revealed as investigations continue into the scandal that saw a group of children under the age of 18 forced to donate blood every month between November 2013 and May 2014.

A group of seven individuals in the city of Wuwei, Gansu were involved in the scandal. They were led by a man named Huang, identified as the deputy chief of a blood center run by Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products, and illegally collected 10,700 yuan (1,742 U.S. dollars) through more than 48 forced blood donations.

Seven of the 10 victims were under the age of 18, the Public Security Bureau in Wuwei said on Sunday.

So far they have arrested six of the seven suspects, with one suspect declared exempt from criminal responsibility for being underage.

In China, the legal age for blood donation is from 18 to 55. Blood centers are required to double-check the donor's identity before taking blood.

The Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products is one of China's largest producers of blood products.

Donors visit blood centers to earn between 100 to 200 yuan in the form of a "nutrition fee" for each visit. It's common for young donors to visit the center in groups.

Huang enlisted a student from the local school to help select the victims, often his friends, one source told Xinhua. Another accomplice would collect ID cards with photos that look like the victims.

Huang then used his position as the head of the center to add the false information into their database to complete the verification process, said Dong Dexiang, a police officer from the local Public Security Bureau.

The victims were threatened or beaten if they did not cooperate, according to Dong.

An employee at the blood center said the donors were informed beforehand of the questions asked in the ID verification process and were told to recite answers that would not arouse suspicion, adding to the difficulties in uncovering the false IDs.

Locals say this had been going on for years, with one source telling Xinhua that angry parents, who discovered their children had been forced to donate blood, confronted the company in 2012. The confrontation was not verified by the police.

LACK OF SUPERVISION

According to previous reports, students aged from 10 to 16, were forced to donate blood at least once a month for seven months. Each time 600 milliliters of blood were taken. The average amount of blood drawn for voluntary donors is 200 milliliters.

The scam was uncovered seven months later when one boy sought his parents' help after being beaten for refusing to give blood.

Dong said Huang's position at the blood center helped them cover their tracks, as he supervised the center's whole process from collecting ID cards to physical check-ups.

The blood center only verifies first-time donors, during which they take photos and register the volunteer's information. Qualified donors receive a certificate allowing them to avoid future ID checks, according to company regulations.

This was another reason why the group operated as long as they did, said Dong.

Each year, the blood center's employees were given a quota to help find 30 new donors. If successful, they received a 3,600 yuan bonus.

Huang confessed he was under pressure to find more donors toward the end of last year, so he came up with the plan.

Health inspectors examine the blood center three to five times a year, but despite spot checks, donor ID supervision relies solely on records provided by the blood center, Wang Xuejun, an official with the Wuwei health department said.

"Both [the health inspector's] supervision and the company's regulations should be strengthened," he said.

 

[KingsOfTheDay]

Heinz pulls baby food from shelves in China after discovery of lead

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 19 August, 2014, 9:46am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 19 August, 2014, 9:49am

Reuters

Heinz has removed packets of baby food from shelves in eastern China following the discovery of lead

Ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co has recalled some infant food in eastern China after it was found to contain lead in excess of the allowable limit.

The move by Heinz comes after food safety regulators in eastern Zhejiang province said on Friday that they had found "excessive amounts of lead" in the company’s AD Calcium Hi-Protein Cereal.

Heinz said it is recalling four batches of the product as a precautionary measure after a test found it exceeded the allowable limit for lead.

"This relates to an isolated regional withdrawal in eastern China," company spokesman Michael Mullen said in e-mailed comments to Reuters. "Extensive testing confirmed that no other Heinz baby food varieties are affected."

On Sunday the Zhejiang Food and Drug Administration said the problem affected 1,472 boxes in Zhejiang and that Heinz had told the agency it would destroy the other 153 boxes that are sealed in a warehouse in the southern city of Guangzhou.

The regulator urged Heinz to compensate its customers.

Heinz said it "apologises for any inconvenience caused and would like to assure consumers that Heinz is 100 percent committed to food quality and safety".
Chinese consumers are highly sensitive to safety concerns relating to infant products after a 2008 scandal involving melamine-contaminated baby milk powder. At least six babies died and thousands more fell ill.

Last year Fonterra said it found a potentially fatal bacteria in one of its products, triggering recalls of infant milk formula and sports drinks in nine countries including China.

Experts say exposure to lead is particularly dangerous for children, inhibiting intellectual and physical development. It can cause poor concentration, disruptive behavior and even death when subjected to high levels.

Heinz said it 'apologised for inconvenience caused', following the discovery of lead in baby products

 

[I0wnedShitFu]

'Leftover' men buy brides from Vietnam

Shanghai Daily, August 20, 2014

Their marriages were arranged for cash, but some of the Vietnamese women who have found unlikely Prince Charmings in remote Chinese villages say they are living happily ever after.

Vietnamese bride Nguyen Thi Hang (left) and fellow Vietnamese bride Vu Thi Hong Thuy share a moment in a yard behind the shop where Hang works in Weijian Village, in central China’s Henan Province. More than 20 Vietnamese brides have found new lives in the poverty-stricken rural township.

"Economically, life is better here in China," said Nguyen Thi Hang, one of around two dozen women from Vietnam who have married men in Linqi.

The township is a patchwork of hamlets spaced among cornfields deep in the mountains of Henan Province in central China. It is 1,700 kilometers away from Vietnam, but it's a new market for an expanding marriage trade with Southeast Asia.

The business is fueled by demand from rural Chinese men struggling to find wives.

Hang, 30, arrived in Linqi last November and struggles to communicate with customers at the dusty village store where she sells noodles, cola and cigarettes.

But her basic living conditions — a tiny bedroom with bare concrete walls, and an outdoor long-drop toilet next to a cage of chickens — are an improvement on her previous home, she said.

"We lived in a bad-quality brick house in Vietnam and were farmers so had to work hard in the rice fields," she said.

Her marriage to a local 22-year-old was arranged by her family, she said, with small ceremonies held in her hometown, and China.

"I knew they gave my family some money, but I did not dare ask my parents about that," she said.

"My relatives told me to marry a Chinese man. They told me they care for their wives, and I wouldn't have to work so much, but just enjoy life," she said, smiling at a group of children buying sweets.

Her construction worker husband spends most of the year away from the village, but her gray-haired father-in-law seemed proud of the newest addition to his family.

"Vietnamese women are just like us; they do any kind of work, and work hard," said Liu Shuanggen. "It's not easy to find wives in this place. Women are few."

It is a refrain heard across China, where families usually prefer boys to girls; now 118 males are born for every 100 females, according to government statistics.

"To get married, the bride's family will often require a car and a house, so it's easier to get married if you have more money," said shopkeeper Wang Yangfang, adding: "In Vietnam, they demand lower prices."

The typical cost for a Vietnamese woman is 20,000 yuan (US$3,200), Linqi residents said — less than a quarter of the local price, and such a bargain that more than 20 Vietnamese women have found homes in the area in recent years.

But the trade is also rife with abuses.

At a shelter in Vietnam, a dozen girls said they were tricked by relatives, friends or boyfriends and sold to Chinese men as brides.

Myanmar's government said in a 2011 report that most trafficking from the country is "committed solely with the intention of forcing girls and women into marriages with Chinese men."

Chinese police "rescued and repatriated" 1,281 abducted foreign women in 2012 alone, most of them from Southeast Asia, according to a recent news report.

Experts say lax law enforcement in rural areas means thousands of other cases probably go undiscovered.

In Linqi, several families refused to talk about their Vietnamese members, with one woman identified as being from the country shooed indoor when reporters arrived. A driver pointed out a tiny settlement nestled between intimidating peaks as a destination for bought women.

"When they arrive they'll run off after a few days," he said. "But it's not easy to run from here, because it's so mountainous, and the hills are full of relatives.

"If you go missing, the relatives will contact each other and bring you back."

It is impossible to say how many of the women are victims of trafficking.

"There are no precise figures," said Zhejiang University sociology professor Feng Gang, adding: "It's likely that the proportion of forced marriages is not large."

Nonetheless, Chinese media regularly report cases of "runaway brides" who flee shortly after their weddings. Some will have simply changed their minds, and some are scams to defraud the men of the bride price, said Feng.

Some of the marriages clearly are voluntary. The men of Linqi have traveled for work to Vietnam, where Vu Thi Hong Thuy, 21, met her husband.

"We got to know each other, fell in love and got married," she said.

"In Vietnam ... we had to work hard, but we could not earn enough. Now I think life is better as only my husband works."

A host of "Vietnam dating" websites also fuels the trade, peppered with images of Vietnamese women advertised as "kind" and "obedient."

"We charge 3,000 yuan to arrange dates in Ho Chi Minh City, and if the two decide to get married, it's an extra 36,000 to arrange the wedding — including photographs," said a staff member at one site, declining to be named.

Many also offer replacements if the new bride escapes.

"If the female partner divorces or runs away within the first two months, we are responsible for finding another partner," she added.

 

[I0wnedShitFu]

Driver confesses to killing missing girl

CRI, August 20, 2014

Authorities in Chongqing concluded that a female university student who went missing after she entered an unlicensed taxi was murdered by the vehicle's driver, cqnews.net reported.

A "girl missing" poster reads the 20-year-old undergraduate student, Gao Yu, went missing after she got into a "black cab" in the Tong Liang county of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on August 09, 2014. [Photo: sohu.com]

Gao Yu, a 20-year-old undergraduate student of Chongqing University of Post and Telecommunications, was reported missing after getting into a "black cab" she mistook as a vehicle of a family-friend in the city's Tong Liang County on August 9.

The driver of the cab, Pu Zhengfu, confessed to killing Gao after being apprehended in Yunnan province on Tuesday.

According to Pu, he killed the girl after the two got into an argument during the drive.

Authorities discovered the license plate of the car Gao entered and released it to the public via Tong Liang County's official Weibo account. After that, Pu was listed as a prime suspect in Gao's disappearance before he was arrested by police.

The case is under further investigation.

 

[I0wnedShitFu]

Young netted in drug abuse blitz

China Daily, August 20, 2014

Young people comprise the majority arrested in recent years during the police crackdown on drug use, Beijing police and experts say.

Clockwise from top: Hong Kong actor Jaycee Chan, Taiwan actor Kai Ko, actor Gao Hu, actor Zhang Mo, director Zhang Yuan, singer Li Daimo and scriptwriter Ning Caishen.

More than 7,800 people have been arrested for alleged drug offenses in the capital since January. Of these, just over 70 percent are under the age of 35, the Beijing Public Security Bureau says.

Eighty-two percent allegedly used crystal methamphetamine, or "ice", followed by those who used heroin and marijuana, police said, adding that most of those arrested were jobless.

The problem of young people taking drugs has become a hot issue, with a series of young celebrities involved.

On Monday, Beijing police said that actor Jaycee Chan, 32, the son of kung fu movie superstar Jackie Chan, and Kai Ko, 23, an actor from Taiwan, had been detained on suspicion of taking drugs.

Li Wenjun, associate professor of drug prohibition studies at People's Public Security University of China, said, "More young people are using drugs or have become involved in drug-related cases in recent years, because more new-style synthetic drugs have entered the mainstream market."

The raw materials for new synthetic drugs, such as "ice", are easier to obtain, Li said, adding that the drugs can be made easily and are in great demand.

"Take 'ice' for instance. It can be bought and delivered through online shopping platforms, which makes it hard for police to detect," she said. "People mostly use the drug at entertainment venues or in their apartments."

Sales of some chemicals have been restricted at pharmacies to prevent possible drug use, she said.

"Ice" can act as a stimulant and has even helped some celebrities to lose weight, "but this cannot become an excuse for taking it," she said, adding that the drug can damage the central nervous system.

Zhang Yu, a member of a team of anti-drug volunteers in Beijing, said it has developed several projects in middle and primary schools across the city.

Volunteers visit schools attended by migrant workers' children to pass on anti-drug knowledge by playing games with students every semester, ensuring that they can identify drugs, Zhang said.

"To my surprise, some students know more about the drugs than we do. Some of their parents work at entertainment venues, while some of the students obtain their knowledge from the media and TV programs," she said.

 

[TellMeWhy]

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[TellMeWhy]

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[GeneralHavoc]

Many faces of child abuse

China Daily, August 22, 2014

Child abuse can be negligence, physical violence or sexual harassment. The first half of this year alone has seen more than 100 child abuse cases reported in media. It is hard to fathom that some of these abuses were committed by the parents.

Xiao Bao’s head got burnt by his father with boiling water and fire and is wrapped in gauze. The father, Luo Chaojiang, an alcoholic and a drug addict, repeatedly beats his children. [Photo/qq.com]

Zhao Caiyan, with Loudi Intermediate People's Court in Hunan province, said there are mainly three factors leading to child abuse. Some parents consider their child a burden if it suffers from a physical handicap. Parents who struggle to make ends meet are more likely to shift their anger on to their children. Plus, there are some parents who still think that physical beating will discipline their child.

In China, there are no corresponding legal provisions to protect children from such abuses. Zhao points out that the "grey zone" in law has actually given some parents the so-called "protection umbrella".

 

[GeneralHavoc]

Three-year-old Xiao Bao (right) with his 8-year-old sister Xiao Rong and 5-year-old brother Xiao Cheng at their home in Southwestern China’s Guizhou province.
Their mother left them behind in June 2013. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

Xiao Rong cooks for her two brothers at home. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

Qiqi’s hands are deformed and he is unable to stand due to broken spine. Liu Xiaofang, the boy’s mother, insists that he suffered the injuries after falling from height.
Due to lack of evidence, police refused to record the case. His mother disappeared after the incident. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

Qiqi receives traditional Chinese medical treatment in Shanghai. Many kind-hearted people have offered their help after media reported the story. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

Xiao Ting receives medical treatment at a hospital after her right hand was cut off by her stepmother on June 28, 2013.
She gathered all her strength to ask “Dad, where has my hand gone?” after she woke up at the hospital. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

A little girl receives treatment at the intensive care unit of a hospital after she got beaten and burnt by her father and stepmother. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

Xiao Tao, a boy in Central China’s Henan province, was once beaten and thrown into a rubbish bin by his drunken father.
His mother left him and ran away to Guangdong province without any trace. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

Xiao Tao receives medical treatment in Guangzhou. His grandfather sits beside him. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

Xiao Tao cries when his grandfather is not present. [Photo/qq.com]


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[GeneralHavoc]

15 sent to prison for trading human kidneys

Shanghai Daily, August 23, 2014

A total of 15 people, including several doctors, have been imprisoned for trading 51 human kidneys in 2010, netting more than 10 million yuan (US$1.6 million) in the process.

The group, headed by 46-year-old Anhui Province native Zheng Wei, identified donors via the Internet, then hired doctors to remove their kidneys at a clinic in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, Beijing Times reported yesterday.

Zheng had made contact with a doctor surnamed Ye, who was head of the urology department of a hospital in Beijing, at the end of 2009.

Ye told Zheng that he was worried about the lack of kidney transplant operations being carried out in the hospital, which could result in being no longer allowed to do them, the report said.

After agreeing with Ye to look for patients and donors, Zheng began advertising himself as a member of the hospital’s organ transplant team.

Later, he met Dr Zhou Peng in Xiaoxian County of Anhui Province, and offered to pay him 25,000 yuan for each kidney removal operation he undertook.

Zhou then helped Zheng to find three other doctors in Xuzhou who were willing to do the operations. These were Zhao Jian from Xuzhou Maternal and Child Care Center, and Yang Jian and Zhao Hui from Tongshan County No. 2 People’s Hospital, the report said.

Under the direction of Zheng, Zhou rented Huahuo Community Health Service Center in Xuzhou as the base for the illegal operations. Between April and August 2010, more than 20 kidneys were removed from donors, with the doctors paid between 1,700 and 2,500 yuan for each operation.

Zheng hired a Xuzhou native to take charge of post-operative care for the donors, who were each paid between 20,000 and 30,000 yuan for their organs.

After the kidneys were removed they were transported to Beijing, the report said.

Zheng rented a building in Beijing’s Haidian District to serve as a clinic and residence for people waiting to receive the kidneys. He also hired several nurses and equipped it with the necessary medical equipment.

A total of 22 operations were carried out in the building between September and December 2010, the report said.

Zheng charged recipients of the kidneys between 180,000 and 220,000 yuan.

In his defense, Ye said his work with Zheng had been approved by his hospital and that the only payment taken was the basic 80,000 to 100,000 yuan for a transplant procedure.

Zheng and his associates were tried at the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court, which heard they made 10.3 million yuan profit from the illegal trade.

Zheng was sentenced on Wednesday to 12 years in prison, while his associates were given sentences of between 3.5 and nine years, the report said.

 

[TellMeWhy]

Dam shame

Source: CFP Published: 2014-8-25 0:38:01

A man picks up garbage at a section of the Three Gorges Dam in Zigui, Central China's Hubei Province on Sunday. Some parts of the Three Gorges Dam have been polluted with household waste, such as plastic foam and bottles. Photo: CFP

 

[Arena]

China police seize 30,000 tonnes of tainted chicken feet

Reuters
August 26, 2014, 7:46 pm

A vendor cuts chicken feet from slaughtered chickens at a market in Changzhi, Shanxi province February 6, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Stringer

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese police have seized over 30,000 tonnes of tainted chicken feet, common on restaurant menus in China, in the latest food scandal to hit the country.

Authorities have detained 38 people involved in the sale of the chicken feet in provinces including the eastern province of Zhejiang, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

The arrests followed raids on nine supplier factories in nearby Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Guangdong provinces, Xinhua said, adding police found that excess hydrogen peroxide was being added to the meat.

China has been rocked by a number of high-profile food scandals from milk powder tainted with industrial chemical melamine to re-used "gutter oil" for cooking. Earlier this month, U.S. ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co [HJHC.UL] apologised to Chinese consumers as it recalled some infant cereal due to excess levels of lead.

Last month, McDonald's Corp and KFC-parent Yum Brands Inc were caught up in a scandal after it was found that workers at a China-based supplier had used expired meat and doctored food production dates.

Zhejiang police had broken up 35 sales networks for the tainted chicken feet, valued at over 300 million yuan (29.40 million pounds), local police said in a microblog post. Eleven suspects were still on the run, the police said.

Chicken feet are a popular dish in China where they are often broiled or put in soups. China was the largest buyer of chicken feet exported from the United States last year.

In 2013, Xinhua reported that China had seized 20 tonnes of chicken feet, some of which had production dates on their packaging going back as far as 1967.

Chinese authorities also said on Monday that a local chef had gone on trial accused of painting abalones and goose feet to make the dishes visually more appealing, Xinhua said.

(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Ryan Woo)