Trending: Tsinghua is 3rd in Asia, Celeb Fights Airport Security
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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.
On Jun 18, QS Top Universities released its world university ranking for 2020 (see full result via QR code below). The results highlight how Asian universities are ranking increasingly well. Most noteworthy for China is that Beijing's Tsinghua scored third place in the continent, behind Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and the National University of Singapore, and 16th overall.
This latest ranking is Tsinghua's best to date, increasing from 17th in last year’s rankings and 25th the year prior. Peking University ranked joint 22nd with the University of Tokyo, leaving the third piece in the holy trinity of Beijing education, Renmin University, way behind in 531-540th place. None of the universities in Asia made it into the world's top 10, but Singapore's top two institutions narrowly missed out, coming joint 11th.
While some Weibo users are expressing their incredulity, calling it a "rigged selection" or an "unimportant" list, the vast majority are hopeful for China's pedagogic future and state that it's a matter of not if but when Tsinghua finally breaches the world's top 10. You can follow the discussion under #清华大学世界排名第16# (qīnghuá dàxué shìjiè páimíng dì 16, Tsinghua University 16th best in the world).
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Changde-hailing singer Yico Zeng (曾轶可 céng yìkě) has fallen out of favor with netizens after refusing to cooperate with the border control staff at Beijing Capital International Airport. The incident has attracted an enormous amount of attention, with the various hashtags related to the "Yico Zeng incident" already exceeding 100 million readers.
The trouble began when Zeng tried to pass through the automatic passport check on Jun 17. When asked to take off her hat for further inspection, Zeng refused and instead proceeded to call the guard out for intrusive behavior, taking pictures of his identification card and posting them online. What Zeng didn't know or didn't care to know was that refusal to cooperate with an officer is a punishable offense, and if convicted could face suspension from work, up to a RMB 500 fine, and up to 10 days detention.
The singer expressed her regret on Jun 19, saying that she couldn't believe how emotional her behavior was and that she would like to apologize to the border control officer in person if given the chance. Zeng's performance at the Changsha Strawberry Festival has also since been canceled.
The singer, who is arguably best known for the accusations of plagiarism that dogged her track "Leo," has had a few small TV roles and spots on music shows but never caught her big break... until now. Follow all the action under the hashtag #曾轶可道歉# (céng yìkě dàoqiàn, Yico Zeng apologizes), which has over 700 million readers.
An early learning center called Lamar Beane in Beijing's Chaoyang District has gone viral after reports that the management canceled all classes in late May and closed their doors in early June surfaced online. So far, parents have not been provided any compensation, with fees ranging from between RMB 5,000 to RMB 15,000 per student.
Making matters worse, in a video recently posted online (watch below), the manager of the school is recorded laughing at the parents and refusing to return any of their money, a sum which reportedly totals more than RMB 600,000.
This is hardly the first time that a business in China has abruptly closed and forced clients to chase their money. Rather, it's an unfortunate commonality that pay-upfront services employ to secure as much cash as possible before doing a runner. For instance, fitness fans in Beijing and Shanghai were left dismayed after upscale indoor cycling gym GuCycle closed down, leaving members RMB 25,000 light on average. More famously, bike sharing company BlueGogo's CEO Li Gang keenly illustrated how fleeing the country when shit hits the fan is not just for movies (read more via QR code below). Meanwhile, Ofo users are still holding out for their deposits (yours truly is currently 15,821,038th in line).
The school refund dispute continues under #北京一早教中心停业家长要退钱# (běijīng yī zǎojiào zhōngxīn tíngyè jiāzhǎng yào tuì qián, early education center in Beijing closes, relatives seek refunds).
READ: Are These Two Popular Sandwiches Really Burgers With Chinese Characteristics?
Images: Weibo
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