Compiled by C. ARUNO, TEH ATHIRA YUSOF and R. ARAVINTHAN
A MOTHER in China who married into a family with the surname Si (literally meaning death) won praise for coming up with a creative name for her newborn, reported China Press.
People with the surname Si have always faced a challenge when choosing auspicious names for their children.
Similarly, the mother and other family members struggled until she decided to name her baby Si Buliao, which means “not being able to die” and loosely translates to “being invincible”.
Many Internet users praised the mother for her creativity and for thinking of such an auspicious name with such simple Chinese characters.
The name Si originated from minority ethnic groups who lived during China’s Northern Wei dynasty.
According to reports, the northwest region of China is home to the majority of those with the surname Si, making it the second rarest surname in China.
> Taiwanese Cyndi Wang caused an uproar among fans for leaving a concert after only performing four songs, reported Sin Chew Daily.
The 42-year-old, who saw a revival in her music career in the past few years, had performed at the Ihmao music festival in Jiangxi recently.
A set list that had been circulated revealed that Wang was supposed to have performed 10 songs at the concert.
The ten-song set list left excited concertgoers disappointed when Wang left the stage after performing four tunes.
Fans complained that other performers at the music festival adhered to the number of songs on their set list, except for Wang.
Many fans who travelled to the festival just to see Wang felt cheated and demanded refunds.
Following the uproar, the organisers issued a statement saying that the set list online was not official and that Wang had performed the agreed-upon number of songs.
They apologised for the confusion caused by an unofficial social media page that released the set list.
Wang’s agency reiterated the organisers’ explanation and vowed to pursue legal action against those who untruthfully asserted that Wang had broken her contract.
“We will not tolerate those who make defamatory statements and are prepared to take legal action,” the agency said.
Wang was best known after she appeared in the popular TV series Smiling Pasta with Malaysian singer Nicholas Teo.
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.