Editor's Note:
Are you up on what the hundreds of millions of Chinese netizens are talking about? Take a moment and get the rundown of what's hot, what's trending, and what's drawing the most buzz on the Chinese blogosphere.
Sickrooms for officials
The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has invested 350 million yuan ($57 million) to construct a 26-storey building containing hundreds of sickbeds specifically for government officials, according to a Nandu Daily report on Wednesday.
According to the paper, an old building was demolished to make way for the 50,959-square-meter building slated for completion in late 2014. It will feature 427 beds in "superior sickrooms" and advanced medical equipment.
The project has irritated many Web users, many of whom said that "the taxpayers' money should not be applied to a particular group of people."
"I strongly oppose building this for officials, because in this case, the elite class has taken the taxpayers' money and robbed the public of their resources," said a Sina Weibo user.
Some say the money should be invested elsewhere.
"Many nursing homes for elderly people do not have land property rights, so they are frequently moved or sometimes even shut down altogether. How can we invest 350 million yuan in constructing a building for cadres and leave seniors behind?" asked a Weibo user.
Others defended the move, saying that the hospital could be using its own money for the building.
"The hospital must have borrowed the money from the bank, and will pay it back with its own profits later," said Weibo user Shirleylinxue. "According to my previous experience working at a hospital, the government's funding is only sufficient enough to support the salaries of doctors and nurses."
Chinese snacks in NYC
A 47-year-old man from Luoyang, Henan Province, who operates a stand selling Chinese snacks such as roujiamo (meat sandwiches), or liangpi (cold noodles), in front of New York City's Columbia University, has gained huge popularity online, after a Sina Weibo user posted a picture of him on June 15.
The Weibo user, Paizhangweihua, said in a post that the man, Xie Yunfeng, "only understands 'one', 'two' and 'three' in English, not even 'four'," and "when it's a good day, he's able to make $800."
Many Web users expressed envy over the money allegedly being made by Xie, who has not seen his family in China since 2011 due to the high cost of a plane ticket. Others said China should learn from the US to cultivate people's passion for small business.
"Food stalls are said to 'hurt the image of cities' and are suppressed by chengguan (urban management officers) in China, when they should be deemed as 'entrepreneurial spirit' as they are in the US," said one Web user.
Global Times