14 minute read
THE NATION
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The Buzz P10 Chinese Corner P11
By Lars James Hamer
CHINA CURRENTS
China’s women’s football team recorded a historic win in the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup final on Sunday, February 6. The 3-2 victory over South Korea in India has led fans to call for the country’s women’s team to receive equal pay.
One Weibo user called for the women’s team bonus to be paid out at the same rate as the men’s team and demanded equal pay for equal work. As of press time, the post received 170,000 likes, was shared over 40,000 times and had over 4,000 comments.
Similar debates have been raised in the USA, whose women’s national team went to court demanding the same pay as the men’s national team. The US women’s national team have enjoyed greater success in tournament football than the men over recent years.
Another user criticized the cash prize that the women won by pointing out “RMB13 million is not much, they bring commercial benefits much higher than this figure. Regardless of the commercial benefits, it’s the women’s fighting spirit that we should study.”
Global Times later reported that the women’s team were expected to receive RMB30 million in prize money.
China’s women’s football team has a rich history. In 1999 they reached the World Cup final, losing to arguably the world’s best women’s team and the tournament’s hosts, the USA, on penalties.
Sun Wen, the national team’s striker won the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot award after scoring seven goals during the tournament.
China’s women’s team have won the AFC Women’s Asian Cup nine times, finishing as runners up twice.
Despite success in the women’s side of the game, a 2018 report by the Chinese Football Association showed that fewer than 20% of female football players earned over RMB10,000 per month.
Many football fans used the women’s success as an opportunity to slam the men’s team who have an underwhelming history.
A so-called ‘football fan’ went to the men’s football team’s isolation hotel in Suzhou and aimed a number of fireworks at the building. The man was recorded on video shouting “Congratulations to the women’s football team. Men’s team, wake up!”
Despite congratulating the women’s team, the man seemingly didn’t realize that using the women’s success as a stick to beat the men’s team takes away from the women’s victory, forcing the conversation onto how below-par the men are.
Many netizens urged others not to use the women’s victory as a moment to discuss men’s football. Other Weibo users commented that the women’s team were China’s true national team.
China’s men’s team’s first and only qualification for the World Cup was in 2002, despite having participated in qualification rounds since 1957. In the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, China finished last in their group, conceding nine goals and scoring none.
Global Times reported that since the victory over South Korea, many Chinese companies, such as Alipay and Mengniu Dairy have donated millions of RMB to the Chinese women’s football team.
RANDOM NUMBER
15…
… is how many of Team China’s 25-member men’s ice hockey squad are foreign-born. Eleven of the players were born in Canada, three in the United States and one in Russia.
As the host nation, China automatically qualified for the competition. However, as Reuters reported, the International Ice Hockey Federation expressed concern in September 2021 regarding the “team’s quality,” adding that its participation “would hinge in part on player eligibility rules.” It turned out that the players did meet said eligibility rules after all.
Foreign-born athletes competing for China in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have made headlines. Goldmedal winner Eileen Gu has been embraced by many in the Middle Kingdom. The US-born athlete decided to compete for China in 2018.
Unfortunately, the men’s ice hockey team didn’t quite have the success of Eileen Gu as they lost all three of their group games. Better luck in Milano Cortina 2026?
DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
Gido Tsujioka
The reporter with Japanese broadcaster NTV went viral on the Chinese internet for his embrace of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen.
Tsujioka has even been given the nickname “Gido Dwen Dwen” by many Chinese netizens.
During live news broadcasts from Beijing, Tsujioka has shown off his collection of Bing Dwen Dwen badges, met Bing Dwen Dwen and promoted the mascot to a Japanese audience.
In coordination with Global Times, Tsujioka had an online talk with Cao Xue, head of the Beijing 2022 mascot design team; Cao revealed details about how his team created the loveable mascot.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
… said Eileen Gu during a press conference following her gold-medal winning performance in the women’s Freeski Big Air.
Gu was asked by a journalist from British newspaper The Guardian about how she balanced keeping everyone from both China and the United States happy. She responded by saying that she was “not trying to keep anyone happy” and that she was just an 18-year-old “living her best life.”
The US-born Olympic champion has faced criticism from the likes of Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson for choosing to compete for China instead of the United States.
Nonetheless, Gu has largely managed to put political questions behind her and has been embraced by China. In addition to receiving praise from netizens, she has also landed a number of lucrative sponsorship deals from Chinese brands.
CHINESE CORNER
Tea Culture in China
Coffee might be the new craze, but tea ( 茶 chá) has always enjoyed great popularity. China has produced and consumed tea for centuries. It accounts for almost 40% of the world’s total tea consumption.
Classic Teas
There are numerous kinds of tea which are often named after the place of their origin or given a special, poetic name. But you can always just choose among:
红茶
hóngchá | black tea
绿茶
lǜchá | green tea
Notice how black tea is literally called “red-tea” in Chinese, because of the reddish color of the brew.
Learn Chinese with That’s Mandarin
Other Teas
Other names of tea that you might find on a menu are:
乌龙茶
wūlóngchá | oolong tea
白茶
báichá | white tea
黄茶
huángchá | yellow tea
普洱茶
pǔ’ěrchá | pu’er tea
Bubble Teas
The traditional tea culture of tea houses ( 茶馆 , cháguǎn) and the tea ceremony ( 茶艺 , cháyì) is still present in modern China. However, if you mention getting “some tea” to your Chinese friends or colleagues, they will probably think about milk tea or bubble tea!
奶茶
nǎichá | milk tea
珍珠奶茶
zhēnzhū nǎichá | bubble tea/ boba
To learn more phrases and practice with Chinese teachers, scan the QR code:
By Lars James Hamer Images by Phoebe Peng
In China, before COVID-19 takes the fight onto the streets, the virus is fought in a rather peculiar setting, hotel rooms. Isolation hotels up and down the Middle Kingdom catch the virus before it can spread.
China’s ‘zero-COVID’ policy tries to eradicate any trace of the virus as soon as it appears. The most painstaking aspect of the zero-COVID policy for many foreign nationals and Chinese people is closed borders. Some foreigners in China have not been able to return to their home country since the breakout in January 2020. On the other hand, some Chinese nationals have been stuck abroad as the price of plane tickets home has skyrocketed.
Any person who does return to China from overseas must undergo a period of quarantine in an isolation hotel, with some provinces imposing a whopping 28-day quarantine period. The price of quarantine, even if it’s for an entire month, for the opportunity to see your family may seem like a small price to pay. But what about the people who work in these hotels? Isolation hotels consist of staff members who voluntarily put themselves into quarantine and away from their families.
“It’s a very serious situation, last night four people had a positive nucleic acid test, so we’re very busy,” explains Phoebe Peng, a translator in an isolation hotel in Foshan, Guangdong province.
The four positive cases were Chinese nationals who had just returned from the Netherlands. As is protocol, they were immediately transported from the isolation hotel to a nearby hospital for monitoring
and treatment, all of which takes place in a closed-loop containment ‘bubble.’
“When there is a new case, I’m always a little worried about the situation because I have close contact with the guests,” Peng told That’s over a WeChat call from her hotel room.
As the sole translator for the hotel, Peng helps foreign guests check in at the hotel, fill out forms and communicate with staff. From the moment they arrive, she is by their side.
The isolation hotel in Gaoming, Foshan has a staff of around 200, consisting of hotel workers, cleaners, medical staff and government employees. Lin Huiwen is a hospital pharmacist who is regularly transferred to the isolation hotel. She is responsible for carrying out nucleic acid tests on guests and staff. She also checks surfaces and belongings for traces of the virus; a vital step in ensuring that the virus doesn’t leave the hospital.
When we spoke to Lin, she had just finished a 24-hour shift in the hotel. From 8 am until noon, she was helping staff deal with the positive cases they had just discovered by conducting nucleic acid tests throughout the hotel. After that, she had to start her regular night shift. A lack of sleep under intense pressure has consequences on both physical and mental health.
In the days after the discovery of the imported cases, one of Lin’s coworkers in the hotel fell sick. She had cold-like symptoms and a high temperature. The worker was isolated in the hotel, basic supplies such as food and medicine were left at her door. Another member of staff was transferred in to perform her duties. Fortunately, Lin’s colleague hadn’t contracted COVID-19. Nonetheless, the events of the preceding few days had a significant impact on the staff.
“All of the high-risk staff were nervous,” Peng elaborates. “At first, I thought it was fine but then one of the medical staff said he was scared and asked to speak with the psychiatrist. That made me nervous too.”
“There is a psychiatrist in the isolation hotel who gives a psychological evaluation to all the guests.” Lin told us.
Peng admits that working in an isolation hotel can have adverse effects on the mental health of workers. “We have to stay in a room for a long time and we can’t go out. Sometimes I feel sad at night and I don’t know the reason. I have found that a lot of staff share this feeling,” Peng reveals. “I used to talk to the psychiatrist and it really worked. As time went on, I found my own release through yoga, talking with my family and friends and thinking about the future. These make me feel much better.”
Peng is a fitness fanatic and, in order to occupy her mind during quarantine, she uses the hotel’s gym to make workout videos that she uploads to her WeChat channel. This quarantine period will be her last. She plans to return home and prepare herself for a Spartan Race in Shenzhen in March. She also believes that working in an isolation hotel is good for her career as she can use the experience to obtain her translator qualifications. Despite her time in the hotel coming to an end, Peng admits that the last two rounds of guests have been the toughest.
Peng about to start her shift.
Staff in the hotel responding to the positive cases.
Ready to go!
Peng on the treadmill in the hotel.
“When I stay at the hotel for a long time, I tend to think about negative things. During a recent stretch, I found myself talking to the doctor about my grandmother’s health. My boyfriend was also having some problems with his business. My emotions weren’t stable and we argued a lot.”
Peng graduated from a university in Guangzhou in 2021. For the last four months she has been living in the quarantine hotel. On the upside, she gets breakfast and lunch provided for her and she doesn’t have to worry about bills or rent. However, a long stay in the hotel can grind you down.
“Christmas is a very important time in Western countries and New Year’s Day is important for Chinese people too, but I was alone on those days,” Peng recalls. “The guests had gone home, the staff had left and the next batch of travelers hadn’t arrived yet.”
Peng is originally from Chengdu so, during the two or three days between guests leaving and arriving, she can’t return home. Lin, on the other hand, primarily works in a hospital and is only temporarily transferred to the hotel. This means that she doesn’t stay for the entire quarantine period and can go home to her family.
When Peng initially got the job, she didn’t tell her parents because she knew they would worry. After a couple of months in the hotel, she let them know what she had been doing. Although they originally feared for her safety, after a while they felt proud that their daughter was brave enough to take such a job.
A few days after the four imported cases were discovered, Lin went back to work at the hospital. “I think there is real significance to my work in the hotel and I can practice English.” Lin was the only one in the hospital to request to go to the isolation hotel. However,
A thank you card given to staff at the hotel. her manager keeps assigning her to hospital work. Lin says that many hospital managers would rather send younger women without children or families into quarantine.
Peng and Lin are both responsible for fifth-floor guests, also known as the ‘high-risk group’. Highrisk groups are usually made up of foreign nationals and ‘close contacts’ (someone who has been in close proximity to an individual who tested positive for COVID-19).
Guests in the hotel can often be difficult and will refuse to do the nucleic acid test.
Despite these difficult customers, both Peng and Lin have had heart-warming experiences in the hotel. Lots of different guests have been very thankful for their service and will write them a personal thankyou card (which is immediately soaked in disinfectant) and pose for selfies when they are leaving.
“I really like serving the foreigners, most of them are really polite and appreciate the work we do.” Peng continues, “I’m also happy for the Chinese people who come back home as they have been abroad for a long time. I think I’ll miss this period because, even though it’s hard, it has been a learning experience.”
People in China are counting down the days until the country opens its borders again and they can freely travel in and out of the country. However, if it wasn’t for isolation hotels like the one in Foshan, where staff stopped four imported cases from spreading throughout the city, we might be dealing with a full-scale lockdown.
Two guests ask Peng and Lin for a photo as they leave.
