COMPLAINER
发布时间：2023-01-19 19:30:55 来源：文档文库
小
中
大
字号：
龙源期刊网 http://www.qikan.com.cn COMPLAINER’S CALAMITY
作者：
来源：《汉语世界(The World of Chinese》2018年第03期
CORPORATE WHISTLEBLOWER’S ARREST HIGHLIGHTS HISTORY OF BUSINESS ABUSING LOCAL LAWS TO PERSECUTE ENEMIES A “fake medicine” scandal has ignited a nationwide furor over police procedure， with no less than China’s official Xinhua News Agency calling for public security bureaus （PSB） to “exercise power doubly prudently” following the three-month detention of a corporate whistleblower. The dispute—between Guangdong anesthetist Tan Qindong and the manufacturers of Hongmao Medicinal Liquor—began in December 2017. Dr. Tan published a blog calling the over-the-counter tonic—which has already been cited for false advertising in 25 provinces—useless “poison.” PSB officers from Hongmao’s home county of Liangcheng， Inner Mongolia， seized Dr. Tan in Guangzhou on January 12 for the crime of “impairing [Hongmao’s] commercial reputation.” Legal experts around China have since pointed out that the crime in question， outlined in Article 221 of the PRC’s Criminal Law， typically pertains to falsehoods alleged by a competitor that damage a business’s reputation. It is up to the company to prove that the damaging information is both false and that it led directly to a commercial loss—and the police exist to make arrests on matters of public security， rather than civil disputes. Yet the outcome of Tan’s case is not unexpected in a country when well-connected companies and officials have been known to misuse public resources. Described broadly in media as a “abuse of public power”—a category which encompasses actions from nepotism to misuse of public vehicles—Dr. Tan’s case has numerous previous parallels， perhaps most absurdly an incident in August 2017， when a man called Zhang was arrested for complaining about the quality and price of food at a Hebei hospital. In 2010， a Ningxia resident was arrested， following another cross-country manhunt， for alleging online that a classmate—who happened to be the son of two county officials—had cheated on his civil service exams. In both cases， the “reputation damage” charges were later dropped by police. The PSB have dealt out far more severe consequences， though， when more than just “corporate reputation” was on the line： In 2006， a university student named Huang Jing was detained for 10 months by Beijing’s Haidian police for “blackmail and extortion” after allegedly demanding too much compensation for her defective laptop from computer manufacturer Asus—Huang had sought five million USD. In the aftermath of the 2008 tainted milk-powder scandal， two of the affected parents， Zhao Lianhai and Guo Tao， were arrested for “provocation” and “blackmail” respectively， after demanding compensation from formula manufacturers—the latter was jailed for five years.
龙源期刊网 http://www.qikan.com.cn Dr. Tan has since been released from detention， while Inner Mongolia’s PSB has ordered its county-level leaders to make further investigation into the case. The doctor now says he doesn’t regret his actions and is prepared to “serve a year’s sentence in the worst case”—let’s hope he doesn’t complain about the prison food in the meantime. – HATTY LIU WHAT’S BUGGING YOU？
VAST COCKROACH FARM USES AI AND SECRECY TO PROMOTE “MIRACLE CURE” In Sichuan， the world’s largest cockroach farm is at the forefront of an unlikely nexus between Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） and Artificial Intelligence （AI）. Over 6 billion American roaches， nearly 28，000 per square foot， are bred annually in pitch-black humidity on this vast farm. It’s powered by an AI system that constantly monitors and adjusts conditions， such as temperature and food supply， in order to perfect growth rates and quality. The livestock from this Creepshow colony are mostly destined to be the main ingredient in a host of TCM products， such as 50-RMB bottles of Kangfu Xinye， or “Recovery Potion，” a sweet， fish-fragranced therapeutic brew produced by Chengdu’s Good Doctor Pharmaceutical Group. The crushed cockroach concoction can help cure respiratory and gastric ailments， regrow damaged tissues， and treat burns or inflammations， at least according to national TCM studies. But skepticism towards these natural and highly profitable miracle cures is growing， particularly among young and less credulous. Exposés on high-end TCM products like Tibetan caterpillar fungus， which boasts an apparent ability to boost both lifespan and libido， bear bile， and donkey gelatin have heightened awareness of both their lack of efficacy and the vast damage they wreak on the environment and ecosystem. Meanwhile， the roach farm poses a more immediate existential danger to its surroundings： Professor Zhu Chaodong， a lead scientist in insect evolution studies at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing， told the South China Morning Post that a breach in the farm’s security would be “terrifying” and a “catastrophe” for the local environment： “Multiple lines of defense must be in place and work properly to prevent the disaster of accidental release.”
Many users meanwhile remain unaware of the potion’s sole raw ingredient， say experts， and would be revolted to learn the truth （the Chinese elixir only lists the Latin name， Periplaneta americana， on its packaging）. The robot-ruled roach industry is unlikely to be squashed overnight， though： the potion is worth over 4.5 billion a year to the Chengdu farm alone. All hail our insect overlords. – HAN RUBO （韓儒博）
龙源期刊网 http://www.qikan.com.cn LEARNING DIFFICULTIES “LANGUAGE EXCHANGE” APPS MAY BE MAKING STUDY HARDER—BY BEING TOO POPULAR “This app has too many users， we’re no longer operating it in China”—said no app developer ever； except， it is rumored， Wei Lihua， the founder of popular language-exchange app HelloTalk. The source of Wei’s statement， which was circulated by several bloggers， remains unclear. The closest is an interview with Sohu blog Edu Talk in late 2016， when Wei declared his team was “no longer marketing the app domestically” because their Chinese user base， about 25 percent of the app’s then 4 million users
