Shanghai Reports Covid-19 Case, Henan Flood Death Tolls Rises to 302, Chinese Jabs Protect Against Delta

Here is today’s ranking of the 10 most-read news stories in China, in economics, finance and current affairs, to help give you a sense of what’s trending in the Chinese language sphere.

Chinese social media users have been paying close attention to Beijing’s investigation into deadly flooding in Central China. They are also following the arrest of pop star Kris Wu on rape allegations.

1. Beijing police arrest pop star Kris Wu on rape allegations

Police in Beijing have arrested Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu on suspicion of rape. Wu has been embroiled in scandal after Du Meizhu, 18, accused him of having sex with her while she was unconscious.

2. First doping case at Tokyo Olympics

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare (external source, in Chinese) was banned from the Olympics after failing a drug test, the first doping case at the Tokyo games’ track and field competition, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Saturday.

3. Shanghai reports one new case of Covid-19

Shanghai reported Monday one new Covid-19 infection (external source, in Chinese). The patient handles cargo for a foreign airline at Pudong International Airport, and has been vaccinated.

4. China reports progress in crackdown on fandom culture on platforms

The Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (external source, in Chinese) said Monday that its work to rectify fandom culture has achieved incremental results, with more than 150,000 pieces of harmful information cleared, more than 4,000 illegal accounts disposed of, and more than 1,300 problematic groups closed.

5. Domestic vaccine effective against delta strain, China’s top virus expert says

China’s top respiratory disease specialist (external source, in Chinese) Zhong Nanshan said Saturday that domestic vaccines are effective against the delta variant. He noted that China needs a vaccination rate of 83.3% to achieve herd immunity, calling for more people to get vaccinated.

6. Beijing vows to punish any misconduct in response to deadly flooding in Central China

The State Council, China’s cabinet, has vowed to investigate and punish any misconduct in the official response to the devastating flooding in the central city of Zhengzhou that has killed nearly 300 people.

7. Death toll from fatal floods in Henan province rises to 302

The death toll from torrential rains and flooding in Central China’s Henan province has risen to 302, with 50 people still missing, local authorities said at a press conference Monday. Provincial capital Zhengzhou accounts for 292 of those deaths.

8. March against Covid-19 health pass held in France

Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities (external source, in Chinese) Saturday against mandatory coronavirus health passes for various public places — including shopping malls, cafes, bars, and restaurants — which will be implemented from August.

9. Chinese game company employee dies while working overtime

A social media user said Wednesday that a contract worker at Chinese game company Sanqi Interactive Entertainment (external source, in Chinese) died suddenly while working overtime. The company said that the person had been sent to hospital for treatment and that it would do its best to provide humanitarian assistance to the family.

10. U.K. scientists say new variants will emerge and beat current vaccines

U.K. scientists (external source, in Chinese) believe it is “almost certain” that a new variant of the coronavirus will emerge and will lead to “current vaccine failure,” according to an analysis published last Monday by the British government’s official scientific advisory group.

Translated by intern reporter Chen Bingyi.

Caixin has not independently verified the veracity or accuracy of all of the headlines or stories.

The daily ranking of most-read news stories among Chinese people, about China and global affairs, is jointly provided to you by Caixin Insight and HANA Data, an artificial intelligence technology team.

The key indicators calculated on the list are based on mass data sourced from China’s mainstream social media platforms and online news websites. Click here for a detailed introduction of our methodology.