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At least five infected with HIV after dirty needles used at Chinese hospital / SCMP
At least five patients at a Hangzhou hospital are reported to be infected with HIV as a result of needle reuse. According to a government statement (in Chinese) released by the Health and Family Planning Commission of Zhejiang Province on Thursday, the “serious medical accident” occurred at the Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and was first reported to the local government on January 26. The investigation carried out by health authorities found that a HIV-positive patient who had contracted the virus outside the hospital during his treatment is believed to be the contamination source. After a technician violated the standard procedure of “using a new needle for each injection,” the virus accidentally spread to five other patients. But the statement does not disclose more detailed information regarding the accident, such as how many other patients have been exposed to the virus or what the treatment was for. -
Video app highlights growing divide in China / WSJ (paywall)
Kwai, China’s most popular short-video platform with 400 million registered users, offers a glimpse of the country’s widening socioeconomic gap. While cosmopolitan China used to decide what’s popular for the rest of the country and is enjoying more sophisticated entertainment, the countryside is still stuck in the developing world. “Kwai provides a medium for those in that less-developed part of the country to share what they find relevant and amusing. Many other user-generated video apps frequently showcase attractive women and the lifestyles of the new middle class. Kwai users, by contrast, often show themselves roaming farm fields or standing in front of shabby-looking buildings,” Li Yuan writes.
- China’s transgender Oprah – As an army colonel who became a woman, she exemplifies a society in flux / The Economist (paywall)
- ‘Bureaucracy hindering efforts to maintain Forbidden City’ – Palace Museum says residency requirements should be eased to make it easier to recruit specialized craftsmen / SCMP
- Resistance to ‘last-resort’ antibiotic spreads from farms in China / Financial Times (paywall)
- China’s roads and workplaces seem to be getting less lethal / The Economist (paywall)
- China should allow three or more children: top demographer / Bloomberg
