News You Might Have Missed: Locke’s Lodgings, Sinking Sidewalks and Microblog Medicine
Locke’s travel budget causes a stir on the web (again) over his modest ways. In Beijing, a sidewalk collapse has everyone watching their steps and hospitals have taken over the micro-blogosphere.
US Ambassador Gary Locke has once again made headlines for his thrifty ways. In the past we’ve caught him buying coffee, eating in local restaurants and flying economy-class. This time he has netizens swooning over his modest travel budget. On a business trip in Hainan, Locke lodged in a local hotel because the price of a Sofitel room (the Forum’s official hotel) cost three times his budget for accommodations.
In the days since the news broke on Weibo, a detailed chart of budgets for American diplomats traveling in China has come out. The prices by city range significantly. While USD 258 will allow you to stay in some nice places like the Westins, Kerry Hotel and Beijing’s Sofitel (but not The Peninsula, The Opposite House or St. Regis), a business trip to Lijiang with a budget of USD 67 leaves Blossom Hill Inn and No. 1 Wenlin Garden Hotel as some of the only options.
A recent accident in Beijing may have everyone walking on the road instead of the sidewalk. A woman in Xicheng District sustained severe burns when the sidewalk collapsed underneath her and she fell into near-boiling water that had been leaking from a pipe, and which had been eroding the soil. Three days after the incident the woman woke up from her coma and is still being held in intensive care. Less than reassuring is a remark from an official from the company for the heating pipelines: “The pipes are easily corroded by rainwater and polluted water.” Also not reassuring is the lack of oversight: The developers of the area’s building, not the heating company, are responsible for repairs and maintenance.
More news regarding Beijing’s hospitals is the announcement that the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau has ordered Beijing hospitals to open their own microblogs for offering information about health policies, epidemic situations, and medical information, but forbids online diagnoses or any patient care. This is a practice that has been steadily gaining popularity in other countries. You can check out some of the uses of social media in healthcare here or take a look at the blog and Weibo account of Dr. Richard Saint Cyr, who has been making use of social media in medicine already.
Photos: elong.com, chinaSMACK.com