Trending: Luxury Car Blocks Hospital, Same-Sex Guardianship
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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. For the full series, scan/extract QR code below:
Beijing came down with an extreme case of douchebaggery on the morning of Aug 14, when a white Rolls Royce was parked in front of the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Dongcheng District. The Rolls was parked in such a way as to completely obstruct the entrance and reportedly stayed there for over an hour.
The owner of the car apparently decided that queueing like a common pleb was not for her (the 京A plate denotes that she's very, very well connected), bypassed the entire line, and drove directly into the lane reserved for only the hospital's emergency vehicles.
It's not a great time for the reputation of rich female drivers in the city. This story comes just after another woman got into a fiery argument following a failed and illegal U-turn attempt in Chongqing. Netizens are following the Rolls Royce incident under #北京劳斯莱斯将医院救护通道堵了# (běijīng láosī láisī jiāng yīyuàn jiùhù tōngdào dǔle, Rolls Royce blocked the hospital access in Beijing).
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On Aug 5, the Beijing Guoxin Notary Public Office approved mutual guardianship between a same-sex couple, the first of such acts in Beijing. The laws allowing adults to name their own guardians were put in place back in 2017 in China, and same-sex couples started using it as an alternative way to get married, but this is the first time that it has been successfully granted in the capital.
Such guardianship offers the benefits of inheritance or power of attorney to the couple, similar to rights which are afforded to married couples. Currently, they are the best possible option for same-sex couples looking to make their relationship legal.
The couple in question was reportedly married abroad, however, their marriage is not considered valid in China where same-sex marriage remains illegal. A poll conducted online about the mutual guardianship revealed that over 85 percent of the five million netizens who participated approved of the decision and only 5 percent were actively against it, according to Sixth Tone (sixthtone.com).
The hashtag #北京首例同性伴侣监护公证# (běijīng shǒu lì tóngxìng bànlǚ jiānhù gōngzhèng, the first approved same-sex guardianship in Beijing) currently has over 98 millions readers. Netizens are mostly positive but, judging by the few rotten apples in the comments section, it seems clear that there is still a long way for China to go when it comes to LGBTQI rights.
Notice the elegantly lifted little toe? A real aristocrat right there
Look ma, no hands! There's really never a shortage of weird traffic-related stories in Beijing. After all, being stuck in the subway or on a ring road is our daily bread. On Aug 13, netizens noticed a man comfortably reclining in his seat, and driving his car on the third ring road using only his feet.
Weibo users were mostly concerned over the danger that such a driver poses to others on the road, especially knowing how busy the third ring road can get. "If you don't want to live anymore, at least don't harm others," wrote one user, suspecting the driver of suicidal tendencies. Beijing Traffic Police announced they were investigating the situation on August 14. Netizens are discussing the reckless driving under #北京一司机躺车内用脚开车# (běijīng yī sījī tǎng chē nèi yòng jiǎo kāichē, Beijing driver uses his feet to drive a car on the third ring road).
READ: Visa-Free Travel to China Just Got Even Easier... for Some
Images: Unsplash, Weibo
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