A man slipped in the shower and got a tap lodged in his back in a freak accident in China’s southern Guangdong province on Friday.

The incident, which happened in Zhuhai city, left the man with a tap lodged 5cm in his back, Lianhe Wanbao reported on Saturday.

The man, identified only by his surname Li, had fallen against the wall and slid down, Chinese news site Southern Metropolis Daily said in a report on Friday.

He hit a tap mounted on the wall, which lodged into his flesh upon impact and was pulled off the wall.

Li was taken to hospital, where a surgeon extracted the tap.

He is currently recovering.

This article was first published on December 11, 2016.
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HONG KONG – Around a thousand protesters rallied in Hong Kong on Saturday (Dec 10) against a crackdown on pro-democracy lawmakers and an electoral system skewed towards Beijing ahead of elections for a new city leader.

It comes a day after unpopular chief executive Leung Chun-Ying said he would not run for office again in the March vote.

While jubilant at his announcement, Leung’s critics fear another hardline Beijing-backed leader will take his place.

There are increasing fears that China is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city, particularly after two pro-independence lawmakers advocating a complete split from Beijing were barred from taking up their seats.

The Hong Kong government is also taking four other pro-democracy legislators to court on Thursday in a bid to unseat them after an intervention from Beijing.

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Hundreds of anti-China protesters rally in Hong Kong as vote looms

Source:

Reuters

AFP

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“The direct message we hope to send to Beijing is we will not forgive and we will fight for democracy and freedom,” said Joshua Wong, who led mass pro-democracy rallies in 2014.

“We will not allow Beijing to disqualify one more legislator, because they are democratically elected,” Wong, 20, told AFP at the rally, which took place in gardens in the Central commercial district.

The city’s youngest lawmaker Nathan Law, 23, who is one of the four the government are seeking to unseat, addressed the crowd saying: “We need to use our legs, our bodies, to tell the regime they can’t oppress us.

“They might be taking away my seat, but they are (also) imprisoning the people’s minds.”

Protest leaders also slammed the electoral system in which the chief executive is chosen by a committee of 1,200 representatives from various special interest groups weighted towards the pro-establishment camp.

In 2014, Beijing said Hong Kong residents could elect their own leader but that candidates would be vetted. That decision sparked the massive 2014 rallies, which failed to win any concessions on reform.

Veteran pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, also among the four legislators the government are trying to unseat, told reporters the leadership system was a “tragedy”.

Protesters of all ages gathered for the rally chanting for Leung to “go to jail” over controversial payments from an Australian engineering firm before he took office. Leung has defended the payments saying he did nothing wrong, but it put another dent in his public image.

However, protester Jack Chan, 18, said Leung was not the root of the problem. “It’s China interfering with Hong Kong’s development,” Chan told AFP.

Another protester at the rally, Mary Lam, who is in her 40s, said Hong Kong was being “mainlandised” by China.

“The pro-establishment camp is hurting Hong Kong, so we need to come out,” she said.

A small group of protesters later went to Leung’s residence at Government House and popped champagne to celebrate his decision to step down.

Leung cited family reasons for his decision and denied it was due to his performance.

But observers said he was simply too unpopular for Beijing to endorse again.

A boy in China has been getting fatter since he was diagnosed with the Prader-Willi Syndrome at three years old.

Now 11, Li Hang weighs 143kg after shedding some kilos recently. Earlier this year, the 1.5m tall boy tipped the scales at 167kg.

Li suffers from the Prader-Willi Syndrome, a genetic disorder that involves an abnormality with chromosome No 15 and occurs once in every 15,000 births.

When he was born, Li weighed 2.7 kg and his mother thought that he was malnourished.

However, the boy developed an insatiable appetite from the age of three and weighed 43kg by the time he turned four years old.

As he grew up, his weight rose, but his mental development stalled. He is emotionally unstable and has poor numeracy skills.

Although this disease cannot be cured, early detection and treatment can greatly improve a patient’s quality of life.

After failing to benefit from various weight loss regimes, Li underwent partial gastrectomy – a surgical procedure where a part of his stomach was removed – in March this year.

Meanwhile, obesity has impacted his life severely.

The boy has high blood pressure, a fatty liver, hyperuricemia, and eight other diseases.

To find relief, Li resorted to Chinese medicine. Through fire treatment, cupping therapy, and acupuncture, he has lost 16 kg in two months.

He is determined to lose more weight.

Also read: Study in China helps kids with obesity gene lose weight

South Korea’s prime minister sought to calm anxiety over national security and to reassure financial markets on Saturday, a day after parliament voted to impeach President Park Geun Hye, making him acting leader.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo Ahn, who assumed presidential authority late on Friday after the overwhelming impeachment vote, and with more protests against Park due later on Saturday, called on authorities to ensure that rallies are peaceful.

“So far, financial and foreign exchange markets have been relatively stable and there are no signs of unusual movements by the North, but all public servants should bear vigilance in mind as they conduct their duties,” Hwang told a meeting.

He said national security was the priority and reiterated that the military should be on high alert for any provocation by old rival North Korea, including the possibility of cyber attacks aimed at sowing confusion in the South.

Park’s powers were suspended after 234 of parliament’s 300 members voted to impeach her, meaning more than 60 members of her own party backed the motion against her.

The impeachment, which has to be reviewed and approved by a nine-judge Constitutional Court within 180 days to remove Park from office, sets the stage for her to become the country’s first elected leader to be ousted in disgrace.

Park, 64, the daughter of a former military ruler, is accused of colluding with a friend and a former aide, both of whom prosecutors have indicted, to pressure big businesses to donate to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.

Park, who is serving a single five-year term ending in February 2018, has denied wrongdoing but apologised for carelessness in her ties with her friend, Choi Soon-sil.

For six consecutive Saturdays, huge crowds have gathered in central Seoul in peaceful demonstrations calling for Park to step down, with another planned for Saturday.

“The candle-lit rallies we have been holding and the weekend rally in Kwanghwamun will go on,” organisers said in a statement, referring to an imposing gate that opens to an imperial palace in front of the presidential Blue House, where Park remains despite losing her powers.

“The impeachment is the start, not the end,” they said.

If Park leaves office early, an election must be held within 60 days. She would also lose presidential immunity from prosecution. Prosecutors have named Park as an accomplice in their investigation.

Earlier, the Bank of Korea said the financial market impact of the impeachment appeared to be limited after a meeting to review policy measures that it may take. Governor Lee Ju-yeol asked for close monitoring of the markets.

The United States, which has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, was in close contact with South Korea and remained a strong ally, the White House said late on Friday.