Latest news with #TheSouthChinaMorningPost
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Company earns ₹44 lakh from ‘desperate' parents for fake kids' fashion show, uses luxury brand names like Dior, Gucci
A Chinese company has been running fake children's fashion shows under the name Paris Kids Fashion Week. Since 2020, it tricked many parents by claiming links with Paris Fashion Week. It also used images of The Louvre and luxury brand names like Dior and Gucci. The company charged 6,000 yuan ( ₹ 71,000) per child to walk the ramp and even organised events where parents joined their kids. It collected 367,000 yuan ( ₹ 44 lakh) from parents as registration fees. The scam ran shows in Shanghai, Paris and Toronto, The South China Morning Post reported. The Shanghai Market Regulatory Bureau confirmed it was a fraud after Gucci's office had complained in 2023. The firm had also used fake logos like Gucc100 and Gucc101. The company has now been fined 600,000 yuan ( ₹ 71 lakh). During the investigation, a staff member revealed the company charged over 10,000 yuan ( ₹ 1.20 lakh approx) for each costume children wore. But, many of those clothes were fake, SCMP added. The owner, Huang, admitted buying fake clothes online but said they were only used for photo shoots, not sold. Still, the authorities found this was trademark misuse. A legal officer in Shanghai said this wasn't the first time the company was fined, yet it didn't stop. Their social media pages still remain active. When dug further, we found such social media pages on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. However, the pages had very little engagement. The last posts on those pages were shared back in 2023. The South China Morning Post shared how Chinese social media users reacted to the scam. 'Such phenomena are quite common these days. Many art and sports training centres also charge parents a big sum of money to send their kids to unauthorised contests,' wrote one user.
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Company earns ₹44 lakh from ‘desperate' parents for fake kids' fashion show, uses luxury brand names like Dior, Gucci
A Chinese company has been running fake children's fashion shows under the name Paris Kids Fashion Week. Since 2020, it tricked many parents by claiming links with Paris Fashion Week. It also used images of The Louvre and luxury brand names like Dior and Gucci. The company charged 6,000 yuan ( ₹ 71,000) per child to walk the ramp and even organised events where parents joined their kids. It collected 367,000 yuan ( ₹ 44 lakh) from parents as registration fees. The scam ran shows in Shanghai, Paris and Toronto, The South China Morning Post reported. The Shanghai Market Regulatory Bureau confirmed it was a fraud after Gucci's office had complained in 2023. The firm had also used fake logos like Gucc100 and Gucc101. The company has now been fined 600,000 yuan ( ₹ 71 lakh). During the investigation, a staff member revealed the company charged over 10,000 yuan ( ₹ 1.20 lakh approx) for each costume children wore. But, many of those clothes were fake, SCMP added. The owner, Huang, admitted buying fake clothes online but said they were only used for photo shoots, not sold. Still, the authorities found this was trademark misuse. A legal officer in Shanghai said this wasn't the first time the company was fined, yet it didn't stop. Their social media pages still remain active. When digged further, we found such social media pages on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. However, the pages had very little engagement. The last posts on those pages were shared back in 2023. The South China Morning Post shared how Chinese social media users reacted to the scam. 'Such phenomena are quite common these days. Many art and sports training centres also charge parents a big sum of money to send their kids to unauthorised contests,' wrote one user. 'The company was exploiting the desperate need of parents to make their kids successful and famous,' came from another.
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Business Standard
19-05-2025
- General
- Business Standard
2,300-yr-old silk manuscripts finally return to China after 79 years in US
Two volumes of the 2,300-year-old Zidanku Silk Manuscripts arrived in Beijing from the United States in the early hours of Sunday, marking the end of a 79-year journey abroad, reported The South China Morning Post. Volumes II and III of the ancient silk texts, which date back to around 300 BC during China's Warring States Period, were returned by the National Museum of Asian Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution. They are considered the oldest known silk books discovered in China and are over a century older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. The manuscripts were unearthed in 1942 from a tomb in Zidanku, Changsha, in central China. They were first acquired by a Chinese collector and later smuggled out of the country in 1946 by American collector John Hadley Cox. The fragments were gifted to the Smithsonian in 1992. Volume I of the three-volume set remains with the privately held Arthur M Sackler Foundation. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that efforts are ongoing to facilitate its return. China's ambassador to the US, Xie Feng, said the manuscripts' return represents a significant moment in China-US cultural cooperation. 'The return of the Zidanku manuscripts reflects a national revival, as lost treasures of Chinese civilisation make their way home,' he said. Cultural relics reflect the splendor of civilization, preserve the legacy of history, and uphold the spirit of the nation. Each artifact carries the spirit and lineage of a nation, touching the hearts of all Chinese people. I'm so delighted to witness the return of the Zidanku… — Xie Feng 谢锋 (@AmbXieFeng) May 17, 2025 According to Xie, around 600 artefacts have been returned to China from the US, including more than 40 this year. Experts believe the silk manuscripts contain ritual or divinatory texts, possibly linked to mythical figures such as Fuxi and Nuwa. They are seen as key sources for the study of early Chinese religion, cosmology, and intellectual history. Li Ling, professor in the Chinese department at Peking University, told CCTV that the Zidanku manuscripts are culturally comparable to the Dead Sea Scrolls. 'They speak to our ancient knowledge systems, our understanding of the cosmos, and the details of everyday life,' he said. The two returned volumes will go on public display in July at the National Museum of China in Beijing.
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Business Standard
12-05-2025
- Science
- Business Standard
China boosts Xinjiang rainfall using 1 kg silver iodide and cloud drones
Chinese scientists used cloud seeding drones and just 1 kg of silver iodide to add over 70000 cubic metres of rainfall in Xinjiang enough to fill 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools Boris Pradhan New Delhi China boosts Xinjiang rainfall using 1 kg silver iodide and cloud drones Boris Pradhan New Delhi Chinese scientists have successfully boosted rainfall by over 4 per cent in Xinjiang using a fleet of cloud seeding drones, The South China Morning Post reported on Monday. The researchers have published the findings from a weather modification experiment in Xinjiang, a dry region in western China, in a peer-reviewed paper. Using a fleet of cloud seeding drones, the operation boosted rainfall by more than 4 per cent across an area exceeding 8,000 sq km in a single day, according to the team led by Li Bin, a senior engineer at the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). The effort produced over 70,000 cubic metres of extra rainfall — enough to fill 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools at 2 metres deep — by deploying just 1 kg of silver iodide, a common cloud-seeding substance. This amount of powder, which is six times denser than water, is small enough to fit in a travel mug. The CMA's key laboratory for cloud-precipitation physics and weather modification in Beijing conducted the test, described in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese-language journal Desert and Oasis Meteorology on 10 April. What is cloud seeding? Cloud seeding is a method of weather modification aimed at increasing rainfall by dispersing substances into the atmosphere that encourage cloud saturation. The process begins with identifying suitable clouds using weather data and tools like aircraft or ground-based systems. Once identified, substances known as seeding agents are released into these clouds. These agents help form larger water droplets by acting as nuclei, eventually resulting in enhanced precipitation. Common seeding materials include salts like silver iodide, potassium iodide, sodium chloride and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). These compounds serve as the "seeds" around which moisture in the cloud condenses, promoting the development of raindrops. Cloud seeding not feasible in Delhi: CPCB Last year, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stated that the feasibility of cloud seeding as an emergency measure to fight Delhi's severe air pollution crisis would be limited. The CPCB has stated that cloud seeding faces significant challenges due to insufficient moisture in the air and the dependency on pre-existing clouds influenced by Western Disturbances. Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had floated the idea several times to his Union counterpart Bhupender Yadav. The CPCB shared its observations on a cloud seeding proposal by IIT Kanpur. The information was shared in response to a Right to Information query filed by activist Amit Gupta.
NDTV
08-05-2025
- NDTV
Woman, Once China's 'Most Beautiful Fugitive', Banned From Social Media
A Chinese woman, once labelled the country's "most beautiful fugitive", has been banned from social media after she used her livestreams to promote anti-fraud awareness and share details about her criminal past. Qing Chenjingliang, 26, from Sichuan province, shot to national fame in 2018 when police released a wanted poster, The South China Morning Post reported. She had been part of a 10-member fraud ring that posed as bar workers to lure victims online on the pretext of romance or friendship, eventually forcing them into spending large sums of money, sometimes using threats or violence. Qing, who had been expelled from school as a teenager due to poor academic performance, said she was drawn into the scam by her boyfriend. The group's total fraud amounted to more than 1.4 million yuan (over Rs 1.6 crore). After months on the run, Qing surrendered and was sentenced to one year and two months in prison. During her prison term, Qing underwent ideological education, legal training and labour reform. Following her release in November 2021, Qing opened a bubble tea shop in her hometown and appeared in a police-led anti-fraud campaign video. Critics said the video risked sending the message that "beauty equals justice". In March, Qing launched a social media account using her full name and her viral 2018 wanted photo as her profile picture. Her bio read, "I was a headline figure in 2018 news. Now I have turned over a new leaf." Within days, she gained nearly 10,000 followers. She live-streamed twice a day, discussing her time in prison and warning viewers about scams. "I want to start over and help ordinary people avoid being scammed," she said, often referring to her past. She warned followers against falling for nightlife scams. "Do not believe in something for nothing," she said. Qing also told her followers she had served her full sentence. "Getting a sentence reduction is very difficult," she would say. On April 27, her account was abruptly shut down, all videos removed, and her profile rendered unsearchable. The platform later explained the ban, saying it prohibits users from exploiting prison or criminal histories for attention or financial gain.
