The world’s most massive seasonal migration begins. From 10th to 15th February 2020, as every year, millions of Chinese will move from one part of the country to the other to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
According to China State Railway Group, the public company that operates rail transport in the People’s Republic, over five weeks, about 440 million rail journeys will be made (8% more than in 2019) with an average of 11 million transfers per day.
To cope with the rising numbers, 5,275 extra train journeys per day will be made available, while for the first time, in some train stations, it will be possible to access with digital tickets and carry out checks with facial recognition.
In Guangzhou and Shenzhen fast ticketing will allow, through facial recognition, to deduct the ticket fare directly from the WeChat Pay account of a traveler once they arrive at their destination.
Hong Kong: one in five Adults suffer from Stress Disorder
The political crisis facing Hong Kong is rapidly compromising people’s mental health -this is revealed by a study published in the authoritative lancet scientific journal that in 2019 – coinciding with the onset of anti-extradition protests – a third of Hong-Kong inhabitants in adulthood – almost 2 million people – have shown signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), up from 5% five years ago.
The survey, conducted by the University of Hong Kong, reveals a close relationship between the mental state of citizens and the massive circulation of strong images through social networks.
According to the researchers, the discomfort highlighted by the population of the former British colony is comparable to “the state of mental health reported as a result of large-scale disasters, armed conflicts or terrorist attacks.”
Renewables: Greenpeace rejects Chinese Big High-tech Companies
Greenpeace has – for the first time ever – released a ranking of Chinese technology companies based on its commitment to the transition to renewables. Within two decades, cloud storage and data center services could account for one-third of global energy demand.
A sector that in China, in 2018, was powered by 73% of coal. But overall, the response of Chinese big tech discolours from what competitors in other countries have undertaken.
Among the 15 large companies considered by Greenpeace, only one – digital service provider Chindata – has committed to meet 100% of its energy needs through renewable sources, in line with what Apple and Google promised.
Among the companies that rely most on cloud computing, e-commerce giant Alibaba is the best performing in terms of transparency and emissions levels. But to date, 80% of the companies surveyed – with the exception of Tencent – have not made public data on electricity consumption or greenhouse gas emissions.
Huawei is the only company to have set pollutant reduction targets
Virus from the Strange Pneumonia Epidemics identified
Chinese researchers have finally identified the virus behind the strange cases of pneumonia reported in Wuhan since mid-December – it would be a corona virus, a family of viruses at the origin of diseases of various severity, from the common cold to Sars.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is a new corona virus “different from those previously discovered and more scientific research is needed for greater understanding.”
At the moment there is no evidence that the new virus is easily transmissible from man to man. Since last month, a total of 59 cases have been reported in the city of Wuhan, in 15 of which corona virus turned out to be the pathogen of the infection.
As in the case of Sars, the epidemic could have started from contact with wild animals since almost all the affected individuals worked in a fish market where wild species, such as pheasants and snakes, were also present.
No deaths have been reported so far, although seven people are in serious condition – 8 were discharged from the hospital with no more symptoms. During the 2003 Sars outbreak, nearly 800 people were killed.
Unlike then, this time the response of the Chinese authorities has won the acclaim of the World Health Organization.
Tmall, a Support of Gay Couples
Lunar New Year is one of the rare occasions when Chinese families gather under one roof. For many undeclared homosexuals, however, the party is a source of embarrassment and coincides with long interrogations about that heir who strangely never arrives.
Tmall, Alibaba’s retail site, decided to break with tradition by launching a video dedicated to the return home of gay and lesbian couples.
The clip, which captures the presentation of their mates to their parents, was made to attract purchases before the holiday.
It therefore has first and foremost commercial purposes. But the underlying message did not go unnoticed, winning the approval of much of the web.
According to a report released by Euromonitor, the economy driven by China’s LGBT community – which has more than 70 million individuals – was already worth 300 billion dollars a year in 2017.
Douyin, Beyond the Numbers
As many as 400 million daily active users – this is the goal reached by Douyin, the Chinese microvideo app known abroad as Tik Tok, which in 2019 has seen the number of its users increase by 90%.
According to its parent company ByteDance Ltd. on Sunday, the backward northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang dominate the top five of the most active regions on the platform, although the top spot is ahead of Beijing.
As is often the case, online behavior also reveals interesting information about users’ lifestylehabits – In fact, the report confirms that while those born in the 1970s are more inclined to share food videos, the previous generation prefers group dances and anime and animals.
But Douyin, as they say, is not just pure garbage- the platform seems to have served to give visibility to 93% of the 1,372 articles classified as national intangible cultural heritage.
