News You Might Have Missed: Scandals R Us
Beijing always seems a little more interesting when there's trouble afoot. This week's scandals have us a little more bemused than outraged. There's also some geeky gaming news that would probably scandalize me ... if I understood gaming.
First up at bat is the already scandal-ridden Palace Museum. There's already been the plate, the letters, and the blackmail guard-tour guide cover-up. Now people are talking about the fact that the Museum once sold 3,000 sets of 18th century Qing imperial armor to their staff for five jiao a piece. One employee bought ten of the (not-so) priceless pieces for five kuai and used the silk and cotton padding to make a quilt, which has since been displayed at a Shanghai museum and at the World Expo last year. Admittedly, the Museum may get some leeway on the scandal this time. The armor sell-off took place back in 1973, at the height of the Cultural Revolution when cloth was scarce and far more precious artifacts were treated as scrap metal.
For more government controversy, the recently released spending reports are sure to cause some stir. Beijing’s partial reports show RMB 1.13 billion spent on overseas trips, official vehicles and receptions, of which over 80 percent went solely to the purchase and maintenance of vehicles. That’s a lot of black Audis.
Jumping into the scandal race from left field is IKEA. The normally humdrum Swedish furniture giant only makes the news when someone else is doing something frowned upon (like this or this). But a recent shopping trip to their site via Google Translate raised some eyebrows. A Ratko Mladic line of children’s toys? Up next, perhaps, Bin Laden kitchenware or Adolf Eichmann linens.
While the IKEA “scandal” appears to be an unfortunate quirk of machine translation, fake alcohol is not so easily dismissed. The latest trend in China appears to be faking French red wine. Many French wines appearing on market shelves are apparently of dubious origins. The knock-offs include high-end vintages like 1982 Chateau Lafite; in fact, there are apparently more bottles of that vintage in China than were actually ever produced. If you’re looking for some assurances on your wine purchase, maybe it's time to start exploring non-French wines. Or keep an eye on our Grape Press feature for recommendations of good wines that don’t sell solely on name.
Gamers beware. Game limits are being formally implemented in an attempt to save China’s youth from a life of gaming addiction. The system that has been in place partially over the years mandates that online game operators must verify the ID of players. Minors and users with fake IDs will only be permitted three hours of play a day before being downgraded to partial points and five hours before all their carefully amassed points go down the drain.
