The Week March 19, 2010

The Wearing ‘o the Green

It was Saint Patrick's Day on Wednesday, and the Irish around the world were celebrating in pubs. I use the word "Irish" loosely, because it seems on March 17th everybody wants to say they're Irish. But is this a holy day? Or a drinking day? The Week investigates …

Apparently there's a good reason you see so much green on St. Patrick's Day, and on the day after. Drinking green beer, it seems, can make you feel a little green the next day.

Crouching Donors, Hidden Money

China Daily got the big scoop this week with a front page article on the famous actress Zhang Ziyi, the star of such hits as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The actress says it was inexperience that caused money problems in her promises to donate funds to the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Yes, she promised to donate 1 million yuan to the China Red Cross, but only 840,000 yuan arrived. But she said she made up for the rest.

Now about the donations from her foundation, promises were made but were not kept by her donors. Maybe she should have called on the stuntmen from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to swoop down on those hidden donors and get the money for her.

All Aboard

When it comes to high-speed trains, only in the United States would Mickey Mouse and Goofy sign up to be first. China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp is among several high-speed train builders bidding for billions of dollars in funds to build high-speed trains in the United States. The Walt Disney Company in Florida has offered 25 million dollars worth of property as long as the bullet train would stop at the Walt Disney World theme park. Who will be the conductor, Mickey or Goofy?

High Fashion, Low Fashion

Here is a fashionable young man ready for spring. He's dressed in nice clothes and maybe he's thinking about getting a date. Will he get a date? No? That's because he's not the "Beggar Prince". Make that "Brother Sharp". Or "Handsome Vagabond". That's some of the names bestowed on a hunky Chinese homeless man who was discovered walking the streets in the port city of Ningbo. Some said his fashion sense was very similar to that seen in the men's winter collections for Dolce & Gabbana. So here's our young man again, in hunky homeless fashion. This time, he gets the girl.

Wanted: Boyfriend

Not everyone relies on high fashion, or low fashion, to land a date. One Chinese college student simply had to post a note saying she wanted a boyfriend. She posted her note at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu. When she did, thousands of young men came to her dormitory to answer her advertisement. Could that have anything to do with the fact that the male-to-female ratio at that campus is 25:1?

Consumer Beware

March 15 was World Consumer Rights Day. And there were plenty of stories about good companies and companies that had bad products. But what happens when you're not sure if a product is reliable? For example, you bought it off the back of a cart? And there is no box or instructions? But you got it at a really good deal? Let's see … Well, instead of a cheap consumer, maybe it's a matter of being a smart consumer.

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.