Today’s Legal Mirror splashes the heartwarming tale of a five-year-old blind boy across the front cover, but the lead story on its website is an eyewitness account of a popular new toy in a Beijing elementary school. This nunchaku with wicked hidden blades is being sold for 13 yuan at a store within 100m of three schools. Under Chinese law, blades under 8cm long are not regulated, although the police do say that it’s obvious such a dangerous toy shouldn’t be sold so near a school and that they reserve the right to intervene at any time.
Parents quoted in the article lament the influence of violent movies and video games, perhaps longing for gentler times in which the Monkey King beat up demons using a simple, unbroken iron cudgel. Jay Chou, whom the public just days ago learned was a patriotic singer, now gets tagged as a “violent idol” whose song Nunchaku has corrupted the youth.
So what will corrupted youth across the city be buying tomorrow?
- Mirror via Sohu (Chinese) Nunchuck becomes a toy
- Legal Mirror homepage