Trending in Beijing: Jogging Aussie Causes Quarantine Backlash, Fires, and Jeremy Lin Tweets at Trump
The fun, the strange, and the what-on-earth-is-this? Trending in Beijing is a wrap-up of top stories in Beijing as told by the trending hashtags, local press, and general power of the internet.
Outbacker out of quarantine
A Chinese-Australian returned to Beijing this week and was none too pleased about having to go into quarantine. Instead, she decided to go for a light jog. In an exchanged captured on video and widely shared online, the woman is advised by a community volunteer to go to her apartment and stay there for the required 14-day period. She ignores the advice, and also refuses to put on a mask, crying "Save me from this harassment!”. The woman later said that a fight with a coworker had put her in a sour mood.
For many perturbed netizens – some likely commenting from their own less-than-optimal quarantine conditions – that excuse didn't cut it. “I thought we weren’t taking trash from overseas anymore? And yet here is some!” wrote one user, while another asserted, “No matter what nationality you are, you have to obey the rules in China.”
The woman was later found out to be an employee of Bayer Pharmaceutical, who promptly announced that they were terminating her contract. (Of course, we can't blame Bayer for trying to avoid further bad publicity after inventing heroin, selling contaminated drugs, bankrolling the Nazi Party, and allegedly helping spread the Spanish Flu for profit.)
To add insult to injury, the woman will be forced to leave the country once she has completed her quarantine (#北京警方要求澳籍跑步女限期离境# 'Beijing police require Australian runner to leave'), and her work visa has been canceled. If you haven't figured it out yet, Beijing is taking quarantine seriously.
You can join the pile-on with the hashtag #澳籍华人女子返京拒隔离外出跑步# 'Australian Chinese woman returns to Beijing and avoids isolation by running.'
Forbidden City falls victim to another SUV
In January, the Palace Museum was forced to apologize after staff allowed a Mercedes-Benz SUV and its two occupants to pull into the Forbidden City for a photoshoot.
It appears that SUVs across the city have been stewing on the matter ever since, with one getting its vengeance this past week by crashing in the Forbidden City's East Gate.
The driver of said SUV, a 26-year-old man, was taken into custody, where alcohol and drugs were ruled out. Users expressed their bafflement at the man’s idiocy under the hashtag #轿车撞上故宫东华门# 'Car hits Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City.'
One user mused that the two car-related incidents were peas in the same pod, in that they demonstrate how privileged youth believe the rules don’t apply to them. Another went with a more erudite comparison: “Trotskyists are guilty of being thieves. They have fallen into the psychological trap of the lucky gambler.”
Beijing’s backyard on fire
Dozens of firefighters were dispatched on Wednesday to Yongning in Yanqing, a mountainous district in the northwest of the city, as a forest fire broke out near the town.
The fire was quickly brought under control with the help of over 400 personnel, saving the 290,000-acre forest from further harm. Meanwhile, Beijing proper was experiencing tree-collapsing force 9 winds, which had they hit Yanqing, would have likely exacerbated the flames and spelled extra danger for responders. Fortunately, Yanqing only experienced force 4 winds at the time of the fire.
Netizens used the hashtag #北京延庆森林火灾# 'Beijing Yanqing forest fire' to commend the responders on their bravery and express hope that they make it home safely.
"Forest fires are a sudden, highly destructive, and extremely difficult natural disaster, and once they occur, it is difficult to control them," wrote one particularly astute user, adding that, "For a long time, China has been vigorously improving forest fire prevention technology and rescue equipment."
Other users took the fire as a sign of the times – another disaster on top of the ongoing pandemic. "A sudden, powerful wind is blowing in Beijing this afternoon, and the dust is flying. This, the Yanqing fire, and the car crashing into the Forbidden City – are these omens?"
Jeremy Lin returns to China, tweets at Trump
Jeremy Lin had a rough return to China this past week, but he seemed to take it on the chin. The basketball star posted pictures on Weibo showing himself spending the night on an airport couch while wearing a mask, and signing the protective gear of the staff.
Netizens welcomed him back using the hashtag #林书豪返回中国# 'Lin Shuhao [Jeremy Lin's Chinese name] returns to China,' earning praise for more than just his uncomplaining attitude. Screenshots from his Twitter account were also shared (#林书豪怒怼特朗普# 'Jeremy Lin is furious at Trump') in which he responded to President Trump's tweet calling the novel coronavirus "the Chinese Virus."
"Oh my god, what a man," wrote one user. "His response to Trump was great for all Asians. Brother Lin has set an example for us all."
Images: China News, Weibo
