The art of grease

方头明 Douyin

What’s it like to be sexually harassed in China? These women will show you how.

Videos of women pretending to be “greasy” middle-aged men have gone viral on social media, Sixth Tone reported. These women mimic men who catcall them, secretly take photos of them on the train, and stand too close to them at work. 

Users say the fact that there are so many videos shows how pervasive sexual harassment is in China. But others are concerned these videos trivialize a serious issue.

So what if you can’t speak English?

Cathay Pacific

Chinese travelers are upset with Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific after a passenger recorded its cabin crew mocking Mainland Chinese passengers.

In the recording, staff laughed at the passengers’ poor English. “If you cannot say blanket, you cannot have it,” one says while others can be heard giggling. “A carpet is on the floor,” another one says, as some passengers had mixed up the word blanket with carpet, What’s on Weibo reported. 

Cathay Pacific has since apologized and fired the cabin crew involved, but Chinese social media users are still upset, with some calling for a boycott. Mind you, China’s a huge market for the airline. 

It’s not the only one in trouble for making fun of passengers. A China Southern Airlines contractor in Singapore was banned from working for the airline after he insulted a Chinese customer who spoke Mandarin.

Stunt gone wrong

Weibo

An influencer in China died after drinking four bottles of baijiu — aka Chinese vodka — while live streaming. 

The 34-year-old, known as Sanqiange, was found dead at a friend’s house where he was live streaming from. About 100 people were watching him drink when he was filming himself, but no one raised concerns, South China Morning Post reported.

Sanqiange started live streaming after his business failed four years ago. 

Other live streamers have been criticized for pulling unnecessary stunts for views. Recently, a man pretended to be trapped on a rooftop so he could film himself being rescued by firefighters.

AI con

Xinhua

A man in China transferred $610,000 to a grifter who used AI to mimic his friend on a video call.

The fraudster stole the man’s WeChat account and accessed his contacts, local news reported. The police recovered most of the money, but about another $140,000 is still at large.

The case shook social media users, who said it was “scary” how powerful the tech is. 

China’s authorities are still working on how to regulate AI, TechNode reported. Other deepfake examples have also gone viral. Two weeks ago, we wrote about people using Mandopop singer Stefanie Sun’s voice to produce song covers. She wasn’t happy about it.

Crispy Clay Pot Rice: Hong Kong’s Ultimate Comfort Food

Clay pot rice is a classic Cantonese dish often enjoyed in the winter. We went to Hing Kee, a restaurant in Hong Kong that’s been serving hearty bowls of rice, meat, and vegetables since the 1980s, to see how it’s made.