Compiled by C. ARUNO, ZAKIAH KOYA and R. ARAVINTHAN
A CLEANING lady at a train station in China’s Zhejiang province resorted to kowtowing to a passenger after spilling a drink on her, reported China Press.
According to the cleaning company, their investigations found that the worker was pouring a drink, which had been left on a coach, into a toilet at the train station.
However, she accidentally spilled the drink onto a passenger, who then demanded for compensation.
Video footage of the incident showed the cleaner going down on her knees and kowtowing to the passenger multiple times to apologise.
Internet users were divided in their views of the act.
Some netizens thought spilling drinks was a trivial matter and the cleaner should not have to bow to the passenger.
Others were less forgiving of the woman.
“Are you in the right just because you kowtowed? Isn’t this a form of emotional blackmail?” one wrote.
Historically in China, kowtow is the highest sign of reverence for one’s elders, superiors, and especially the Emperor of China, as well as for religious and cultural objects of worship.
In extreme cases, the kowtow can be used to express profound gratitude or to beg for forgiveness.
> Applicants for a job as a “housing manager” at a university in China were required to have at least a master’s degree, sparking a debate online, reported Sin Chew Daily.
The housing manager would be responsible for students’ political education, as well as take on secretarial and administrative work.
An advertisement of the job vacancy posted by the student housing centre of Shandong University stated that candidates should also possess skills in negotiation and data analysis, competency in using common office software, and have good writing skills.
Many Internet users were perplexed why the job required someone with such high academic qualifications.
In the end, the centre hired a candidate who had graduated from the University of Adelaide with a master’s degree in wine business and another with a master’s degree in architecture from the Harbin Institute of Technology.
> Hong Kong funnyman Eric Tsang (pic) has claimed that the #MeToo wave in Taiwan is unlikely to affect him, reported China Press.
In light of the many allegations of sexual assault against celebrities in Taiwan, Tsang was asked if he was worried that it would hit him as well.
“Maybe it won’t!” he told reporters while filming a TV show in Japan recently.
Tsang, 69, who is also the general manager of Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, caused quite a stir in October 2022 when a video went viral, showing him planting a kiss on a Malaysian model during her birthday gathering.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
