May 22, 2009
Today’s Guangzhou-based New Express reports on an odd incident that took place in Guangzhou yesterday: a 31-year-old subcontractor climbed to the top of a bridge and threatened to jump off. This gambit is not uncommon among desperate creditors who want government intervention to help them get their money back, but in this case, as he was waiting on the bridge, an elderly man snuck up and pushed him off.
Though the man landed on an air mattress, he suffered multiple bone fractures and was said to be in critical condition in the hospital. The old man gave a triumphant salute to onlookers and then was arrested by police.
An article that ran on May 15 reported that there had been 15 “jumping shows” on that same bridge, the Haizhu Bridge, this year. Eight of the individuals were arrested for traffic disruption.
May 22, 2009
The bottom of the paper reports that 13 women died in a factory fire yesterday in Shantou, Guangdong.
Other newspapers featured Li Yuchun, former champion of the Hunan TV talent show Super Girls. The popular singer, known for her androgynous look, will have a wax likeness installed in Shanghai’s Madame Tussauds Museum.
A photo showing Li having her measurments taken is featured on the cover of today’s City Lady, a Jinan-based newspaper which, as its name suggests, aims its reporting at women.
According to the paper’s report, Li is the first woman singer in mainland China to be invited to appear in the Museum. The wax statue will be unveiled in September.
Update: Here’s a news report showing the incident: