Latest news with #SixthTone
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Time of India
Disturbing Telegram spy cam group busted in China - over 100,000+ members involved in filming women and children
Telegram, the encrypted messaging app, has once again come under fire. First it was South Korea, and now it's China facing a scandal involving a chatroom filled with spy cam videos of women and children. The chatroom, called the "MaskPark Treehole Forum," was exposed as the hub of a massive spy cam ring - used to circulate secret footage of victims, sparking national outrage across the country. According to reports from Sixth Tone and Southern Metropolis Daily, the chatroom had over 103,000 members who actively exchanged illegally recorded hidden camera footage. The disturbing clips included women, couples, and even children - secretly filmed in places like subway stations, university dorms, changing rooms, and their own homes. Spy cameras disguised as everyday objects To evade detection, the offenders allegedly used microscopic spy cameras disguised as common household items such as screws and electrical sockets. These devices were reported to be marketed via an underground market connected to the site, making it simple for members to obtain and sell unlawful surveillance technology. What has alarmed the public the most is the identities of people involved. Many of those who posted and shared footage were found to be close to the victims, including former partners, colleagues, and even family members. Forum shut down, then revived with even more members The chatroom, which was started in 2021, grew to over 310,000 subscribers before being shut down at the end of 2024. However, it reappeared in March 2025 and drew a sizable user base. The group operated with alarming openness, hosting sub-channels dedicated to specific categories such as "female classmates and coworkers," "brides trying on dresses," and "lingerie." Victims speak out as public calls for change Following the incident, other victims have come forward, pledging to seek justice and encouraging others not to remain silent. The discoveries have sparked considerable public outrage, with calls for harsher fines, stronger privacy safeguards, and more stringent regulation of encrypted chat networks such as Telegram. One woman, speaking anonymously to the media, revealed that her ex-boyfriend - who holds Canadian citizenship and currently lives in the U.S. - leaked her nude photos and videos to the group, along with her personal details. Despite reporting the case to authorities in both countries, legal proceedings remain stalled due to cross-border jurisdiction issues. Chinese legal experts note that current laws regarding voyeurism and digital sexual violence are relatively weak. In most cases, offenders receive minimal punishment - such as short-term detention or fines - unless the content is sold for profit. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending.
Straits Times
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
China's Revenge On Gold Diggers video game fuels sexism debate
Revenge On Gold Diggers, a full-motion video interactive game, is now among the country's top 10 best-selling titles on Steam. PHOTO: REUTERS BEIJING – One of China's best-selling new games has renewed a debate around sensitive gender issues in a country grappling with plunging marriage rates. Revenge On Gold Diggers, a full-motion video interactive game, soared to the top of Steam's revenue charts in China since its launch a week ago. Selling at US$6 (S$7.65) apiece, it is now among the country's top 10 best-selling titles on the PC platform, surpassing enduring hits like Black Myth: Wukong and Baldur's Gate 3. Developed by a little-known indie studio, the game unfolds as a series of choose-your-own-adventure episodes, where the player acts as a male protagonist interacting with five women. The female characters range from a live-streamer to a coffee shop barista, each of them exploiting their male counterparts for money. One of the women in the game boasts about her manipulation by saying, 'He's more obedient than a dog.' These storylines have stirred controversy on China's social networks, with critics slamming the game as a sexist fantasy. The developer responded by renaming the title to the more palatable Emotional Fraud Simulator while keeping all content intact. Opinions have been split. A state newspaper in Beijing opined this week that the game helps 'creatively strengthen young people's awareness of safety in romantic relationships', with other official outlets reposting the sentiment. Marriage numbers in China have been falling for most of the past decade and plunged to a record low last year – compounding a demographic crisis that's proliferating across the world's second-largest economy. Facing job insecurity and uncertain futures, young people are finding solace in things like video games, pet ownership and trendy collectibles like Labubu. Revenge On Gold Diggers has also been compared by Chinese social-media users and local media such as Sixth Tone with a recent real-life tragedy. In 2024 , a young gaming influencer nicknamed 'Fat Cat' killed himself and the internet attacked his girlfriend. A legion of Chinese indie games studios are trying to make it on Steam in the romance simulation genre, after 2024's surprise hit Love Is All Around. Featuring live-action footage, these games typically portray a male protagonist romantically pursuing multiple women and offer varying endings based on a player's dialogue choices. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
China's 'Revenge on Gold Diggers' video game fuels sexism debate
As marriage numbers in China plunged to a record low last year, a game that paints its female characters as gold diggers exploiting their male counterparts for money has stirred controversy online. — Photo by Gigi on Unsplash One of China's best-selling new games has renewed a debate around sensitive gender issues in a country grappling with plunging marriage rates. Revenge On Gold Diggers , a full-motion video interactive game, soared to the top of Steam's revenue charts in China since its launch a week ago. Selling at US$6 (RM25) apiece, it's now among the country's top 10 best-selling titles on the PC platform, surpassing enduring hits like Black Myth: Wukong and Baldur's Gate 3 . Developed by a little-known indie studio, the game unfolds as a series of choose-your-own-adventure episodes, where the player acts as a male protagonist interacting with five women. The female characters range from a live-streamer to a coffee shop barista, each of them exploiting their male counterparts for money. One of the women in the game boasts about her manipulation by saying, "He's more obedient than a dog.' These storylines have stirred controversy on China's social networks, with critics slamming the game as a sexist fantasy. The developer responded by renaming the title to the more palatable Emotional Fraud Simulator while keeping all content intact. Opinions have been split. A state newspaper in Beijing opined this week that the game helps "creatively strengthen young people's awareness of safety in romantic relationships', with other official outlets reposting the sentiment. Marriage numbers in China have been falling for most of the past decade and plunged to a record low last year – compounding a demographic crisis that's proliferating across the world's second-largest economy. Facing job insecurity and uncertain futures, young people are finding solace in things like video games, pet ownership and trendy collectibles like Labubu. Revenge On Gold Diggers has also been compared by Chinese social-media users and local media such as Sixth Tone with a recent real-life tragedy. Last year, a young gaming influencer nicknamed "Fat Cat' killed himself and the Internet attacked his girlfriend. A legion of Chinese indie games studios are trying to make it on Steam in the romance simulation genre, after 2024's surprise hit Love Is All Around . Featuring live-action footage, these games typically portray a male protagonist romantically pursuing multiple women and offer varying endings based on a player's dialogue choices. – Bloomberg
NDTV
31-05-2025
- Climate
- NDTV
What Is 'Cloud Suck'? The Rare Phenomenon That Lifted Chinese Paraglider To 28,000 Feet
A dramatic video recently went viral showing a 55-year-old Chinese paraglider, Peng Yujiang, being unexpectedly lifted to an altitude of 8,598 metres over China's Qilian Mountains due to a rare phenomenon known as "cloud suck". This extreme incident has garnered significant attention online. Peng, who was testing secondhand paragliding equipment at approximately 3,000 metres, encountered the updraft that carried him nearly 5,000 metres higher. He endured temperatures around -40 degrees Celsius and dangerously low oxygen levels. Despite experiencing hypoxia and severe frostbite, Peng managed to remain conscious and safely navigated back to the ground. Watch the video here: A freak updraft over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lifted Chinese Paraglider Peng Yujiang nearly nine kilometers in minutes — and the entire flight was caught on camera. Screenshots from Peng's GPS flight tracker show he took off at 12:19 p.m. from the Qilian Mountains, an area… — Sixth Tone (@SixthTone) May 28, 2025 "I had just bought a second-hand paragliding harness and wanted to test it, so I was conducting ground parachute shaking. After a while, the wind suddenly picked up and lifted me into the air. I tried to land as soon as possible, but I failed," Peng told CCTV Tuesday. "I found myself surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds and trapped inside. It was terrifying - everything around me was white. Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which direction I was heading. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning. Eventually, I managed to fly out toward the northeast," he added. A video capturing his ordeal, showing him covered in ice and visibly shaken, went viral on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. Peng and his friend, who posted the video, received six-month bans from paragliding activities due to unauthorised flight and safety violations. What Is Cloud Suck and How It Led to Peng Yujiang's Paragliding Incident Aviation expert Wang Yanan explained to China Media Group CGTN that the incident involving Peng Yujiang was caused by a phenomenon called cloud suck. This occurs when a paraglider is pulled into strong upward air currents near cumulonimbus clouds. These powerful updrafts can rapidly increase the pilot's altitude, but this sudden rise is both intense and unpredictable, posing serious dangers. Wang emphasised, "Such rapid ascents are extremely hazardous. Once inside the cloud, the pilot may encounter severe cold, lack of oxygen, turbulence, and even lightning. At very high altitudes, these threats become even more severe, making cloud suck potentially life-threatening." Additionally, Wang cautioned that flying above 8,000 metres places paragliders dangerously close to the cruising altitude of commercial aeroplanes, increasing the risk of collision and other aviation hazards.
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Chinese paraglider reaches near-record heights, over 28,000 feet, by accident
A paraglider in China who had intended to simply test some equipment instead ended up unwittingly reaching barely survivable heights last week. Peng Yujiang, a 55-year-old paraglider in Gansu province, on Saturday morning flew nearly 8,600 meters above sea level -- more than 28,200 feet, or about 5.3 miles -- in the Qilian mountain range of northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces, according to state media. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The episode was captured on a camera attached to his equipment and showed the harrowing conditions he experienced. Peng rose to a level almost on par with Mount Everest's summit and aviation flight paths. His face and body are covered in frost and ice in the video, which was originally posted to social media and later shared by Chinese state media. "I felt the lack of oxygen. My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio," Peng said in a video recorded after the incident, according to Sixth Tone, an English-language, Chinese state-owned outlet. According to local news media, Peng was testing equipment as part of "ground handling training" -- a step that paragliders say is critical to managing safe launches -- at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level, or about 10,000 feet. But a strong wind suddenly lifted him into the sky. He could not control the glider or land as the draft grew stronger and he was pulled up above the clouds. Peng was apparently the victim of a potentially dangerous phenomenon that paragliders call "cloud suck," in which a pilot is rapidly drawn upward into a cloud. At extreme altitudes, people risk hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, because of the thin air. Severe hypoxia can cause organ damage or death. Still, Peng managed to land about 20 miles away from where he took off. In stable health and recovering from his surprise flight, he has since said, "Thinking about it still makes me quite scared," China Daily reported Thursday. The local sporting authority in Gansu province said Wednesday that Peng, who is a licensed paraglider, would be barred from the sport for six months; it also noted that flying activities at sites in the area would be suspended for an unspecified period, local news media reported. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But the association deemed Peng's incident an accident, based on his statement that he did not have a flight planned and was doing ground handling training, which does not require participants to register plans in advance, the reports said. A second pilot was also banned from flying for six months, because he released footage of the incident without permission, the authority's report said, according to the South China Morning Post. Peng was not the first paraglider to accidentally reach such extreme heights. In 2007, Ewa Wisnierska, a champion Polish paraglider who competed on the German national team, reached around 10,000 meters, or over 32,000 feet, accidentally breaking the paragliding height record on a practice flight in Australia, just days before the World Paragliding Championships. Her 6-mile ascent was treacherous, and she passed out in the air, eventually landing more than 50 miles away from where she took off, on a farm. Another paraglider who was caught in cloud suck that day did not survive. "Today, I still fly -- but just for pleasure and to give courses to the people who come to my paragliding school. Competing no longer makes any sense to me," Wisnierska told People magazine last year. "This definitely changed a lot of priorities and made me realize that there are much more important things in life than championship cups and medals. I often ask myself why was it that I survived and this other pilot did not?"
