Latest news with #Mandarin-speaking
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
How an influencer in China lost 60kg in 5 years without weight-loss drugs or crash diets
Scroll through Shanghai-based Thomas Derksen's Instagram feed from the oldest post to the newest and you will notice a metamorphosis in the Mandarin-speaking German influencer. In the early days, there were a lot of photos of him enjoying food: a slap-up English breakfast, cookies while working at his laptop, a rich birthday cake in 2018 and what looks like an enormous bacon sandwich in 2019. Then there is a shift, with fewer photos of heavy meals and more photos that record him seemingly shrinking. The hefty young man grows slimmer and more active: kayaking on a lake, walking his dog and swimming. The start of the pandemic was the turning point. 'I started to lose weight when Covid happened,' the 36-year-old says. 'I knew I needed to lose weight and that my lifestyle was unhealthy. I had a fatty liver chest pains and sore joints 'Staying at home gave me time to do my research. All the information I needed was available online. There are many free resources. I collected what I found and put it into practice. Some ideas worked for me, some did not.'
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
How an influencer in China lost 60kg in 5 years without weight-loss drugs or crash diets
Scroll through Shanghai-based Thomas Derksen's Instagram feed from the oldest post to the newest and you will notice a metamorphosis in the Mandarin-speaking German influencer. In the early days, there were a lot of photos of him enjoying food: a slap-up English breakfast, cookies while working at his laptop, a rich birthday cake in 2018 and what looks like an enormous bacon sandwich in 2019. Then there is a shift, with fewer photos of heavy meals and more photos that record him seemingly shrinking. The hefty young man grows slimmer and more active: kayaking on a lake, walking his dog and swimming. The start of the pandemic was the turning point. 'I started to lose weight when Covid happened,' the 36-year-old says. 'I knew I needed to lose weight and that my lifestyle was unhealthy. I had a fatty liver chest pains and sore joints 'Staying at home gave me time to do my research. All the information I needed was available online. There are many free resources. I collected what I found and put it into practice. Some ideas worked for me, some did not.'
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Who Loves Jensen More — Beijing or Washington?
This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a symbiotic synthesis of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. It's not easy to be on the good side — simultaneously — of both Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. But somehow, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang has managed to stay on the good side of Beijing and Washington. Last week, Huang wowed an audience in China by delivering a speech in Mandarin. The CEO of one of the world's most valuable companies by market cap was born in Mandarin-speaking Taiwan but, after moving to the US at age 9, spoke mainly English. His Mandarin speech was slightly halting, but (unlike Mark Zuckerberg's attempt a while back) Huang — now 62 — had the troublesome Chinese tones right, enunciating with confidence. The result was widespread acclaim in the People's Republic.
NZ Herald
16-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
ProLink liquidation: 60 workers gain new visas, jobs amid $3.8m deficit
Patel said he had secured another accredited employer to take on almost all the employees contracted to work for companies via ProLink after the liquidation was announced. ProLink was a labour recruitment business where staff were hired to work at other companies. Photo / Supplied 'I'm a migrant from Fiji. At all times, the welfare of these ProLink employees was paramount to me. You've got to have a heart.' Of the 60 employees, about 45 had new visas and new jobs, while a further 15 would soon go to a new accredited employer, he said. He hopes to be able to distribute holiday pay to all 190 laid-off workers, plus the further 60. Those 60 were contracted to Gilmours Manukau and North Shore, All Office Furniture, Moana Fisheries, Westpac Mussels, FT Logistics, Trugene Laboratories, Forty Thieves/Nut Butter Company and Paramount Merchandise, according to the latest report. Patel hired a Mandarin-speaking lawyer to assist him with the liquidation. ProLink NZ was at 349 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Westpac Mussels Distributors has taken on some of the workers. Photo / Alan Gibson It was established in 2018 and specialised in hiring Asian immigrants, saying it worked with Immigration New Zealand. Patel was appointed by shareholder Haiyan (Shirley) Luo of Three Kings. In December, Patel said he was particularly concerned about the workers, given the timing. He sent them letters with advice about where to turn for help. 'I've arranged a Chinese-speaking lawyer to assist them with their visas and immigration. I've also contacted Rotary at Botany Downs to organise food parcels. This is so sad, just before Christmas,' Patel said last year. In 2017, the Herald reported ProLink director Luo was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges brought under the Immigration Act and Tax Administration Act. She used fake birth documents to bring a child here from China and three companies evaded $423,000 in taxes. A spokeswoman for Immigration New Zealand said the agency had received complaints about Prolink NZ. The latest six-monthly ProLink statement of affairs projects a $3.8 million deficit. Inland Revenue is owed approximately $2.4m alone but a full tax audit is still pending. Wages and holiday pay of $83,000 is a liability along with $1.5m owed to unsecured creditors. Patel said he was satisfied he could help so many of the employees who might have otherwise had to leave New Zealand. Anne Gibson has been the Herald's property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
Nikkei Asia
30-06-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Chinese publishing thrives in Tokyo as Hong Kong freedom narrows
Annie Zhang Jieping opened the Nowhere Bookstore in the cozy Tokyo neighborhood of Koenji. She says the name expresses hope for those who have been forced to disperse, and also represents a place of safety. (Photo by Kenji Kawase) KENJI KAWASE TOKYO -- Hong Hong's relative freedom once made it a center for publishing and selling books that were considered "sensitive" or banned in mainland China. But with dissent severely curtailed under the national security law imposed exactly five years ago Monday, another hub of Chinese-language publication is emerging: Tokyo. While democratic and Mandarin-speaking Taiwan remains a natural alternative, a rapid increase in immigrants and visitors is turning Tokyo into a new hub for Chinese-language literature and scholarship.
