Deadly Vaccines

A Chinese drug company, Shenzhen Kangtai, is under investigation following the deaths of 8 babies who received Hepatitis B vaccines made by the company.

The latest scandal is reminiscent of the melamine-laced infant formula in 2011.

[sources 1, 2]

Smog Makes People Funnier

Smog makes people funnier. At least that's one of the sunny spin being taken by the Chinese propaganda machine, aka CCTV, on China's worsening smog problem - which now has spread to Shanghai after blanketing the capital in gray cloud.

CCTV also cited the following as "benefits" of the smog:

• It unifies the Chinese people.
• It makes China more equal.
• It raises citizen awareness of the cost of China's economic development.
• It makes people more knowledgeable (of things like meteorology and the English word 'haze')

The level of PM2.5 particulate in Shanghai reached 406. The World Health Organization recommends a level of 20 as safe, and any reading above 300 is deemed hazardous.

[source]

The Dirtiest Pools in the World are in China

The crowded public pools in China are considered the dirtiest. A study of more than 5,600 swimming pools in 24 provinces found out that:

• Ten percent of them have high levels of urea (therefore, urine),
• the total percentage of bacteria in the swimming pool can reach 92.3 percent and E. Coli can reach 96.9 %

In 2008, a man died and more than 3,000 fell sick after ingesting fecal matter-laced pool water from the Mao Mao Municipal Pool in Beijing. 

sources: 1, 2

Fake Honey

Another day, another fake food from China.

South China Morning Post is reporting that fake honey is being manufactured in Chongqing. The forged foodstuff is apparently made from water, sugar, alum and coloring and being sold as real honey.

[source]

Mercury-Laced Beauty Products from China

Eco-Waste Coalition has published another list of mercury-tainted beauty products that are being sold in Manila:

• Yudantang Ginseng and Green Cucumber 10 Days Whitening Speckles Removed Essence, 59,000 parts per million
• Yudantang 10 Specific Eliminating Freckle Spot  and Double Whitening Sun Block Cream, 50,000 ppm
• Beauty Girl Egg White and Tomato 6 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Cream, 39,400 ppm
• Natural Orange Whitening and Anti-Aging Package, 37,000 ppm
• Hengxueqian Whitening Set, 25,300 ppm
• S’Zitang 10 Days Eliminating Freckle Day and Night Set, 6,499 ppm
• S’Zitang 7 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set, 5,233 ppm
• Bai Li Tou Hong Cream, 4,463 ppm
• Jiaoli 7 Days Eliminating Freckle AB Set, 3,764 ppm
• Gemli Glutathione Hydrolyzed Collagen, 3,565 ppm
• Gemli Glutathione Grapeseed Extract Whitening and Anti-Aging, 2,251 ppm
• Gakadi, 2,101 ppm
• “Special Cream” (1 jar), 1,153 ppm
• One product labeled in Chinese characters with red flower and green leaves, 1,108 ppm
• Aichun Beauty Aloe Vera Whitening and Speckle Removing Series, 286 ppm

The public is warned not to buy any of these products.

[sources 1, 2] 

Rat Meat Sold as Mutton in China

Another food safety scandal in China. After the thousands of floating dead pigs in Shanghai, the tainted baby formula and the formaldehyde in cabbage, the communist country is again grappling with another food scandal. 

Hundreds of meat traders have been arrested in eastern China for selling rat meat as lamb meat. Also being sold as mutton are mink and fox meat. Around 20,000 tons of fake meat (that's a lot of vermin) have been seized. 

The government has been putting up public service announcements to teach consumers how to spot rat meat (it's on the right on the photo above).

Sources: 1, 2, 3 

FIFA Bans 58 in China Match Fixing Scam

Even football is not spared. FIFA, the world governing body for football, banned 58 officials and players because of match fixing and bribery in China. Twenty five received 5-year bans, while 33 got lifetime bans.

[source]

Alegory of the Chinese Hurdler

This Chinese hurdler represents how China is behaving in the world stage.

Unlucky Charms

Ecowaste Coalition is warning the public to avoid China-made amulets, charms and decors for the Chinese New Year. These trinkets were found to contain high levels of heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and chromium. 

Most of these trinkets are sold in Binondo district of Manila. 

[source][image source]

Formaldehyde in Cabbage

Formaldehyde - the chemical used for embalming - is being used to keep cabbages fresh in Quingzhou, a city in the Shandong province of China. 

The chemical is sprayed on the vegetable while in transit to keep them from rotting while in transit because the farmers cannot afford to buy refrigeration equipment.

[source]