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Ideas

Reverse Aging, Mole In Iran, Precious Ukraine: The Year's Most Popular Worldcrunch Stories

Reverse Aging, Mole In Iran, Precious Ukraine: The Year's Most Popular Worldcrunch Stories
Worldcrunch

Here are the 10 most-read articles of the past year:

Escape From Foxconn: Inside The COVID Lockdown Chaos Blocking China's iPhone Production

THE INITIUM

Around China, Zero-COVID policy has shut down entire towns and workplaces. But in the high-tech Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, famous for cranking out iPhones, employees were forced to work even if they tested positive. Exclusive testimony from some of those who fled Foxconn premises last week.

Wartime News And French Sunshine: A Cry In The Dark For My Precious Ukraine

WORLDCRUNCH

Our Ukrainian journalist has another job to help pay the bills: at a luxury hotel in the South of France. It brings the stark contrast of her life right now, and the risks facing her native country, into desperately sharp relief.

Benjamin Button For Real? Scientists Are Close To Cracking The Code To Reverse Aging

LES ECHOS

The discovery that earned Japan's Shinya Yamanaka the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine has paved the way for new research proving that aging is a reversible process. Currently just being tested on lab mice, will the cellular reprogramming soon offer eternal youth?

Syria, The Laboratory For Putin's Brutality In Ukraine

LA RAZON

Putin is increasing his attacks on Ukrainian civilians and may be preparing to use chemical weapons. But these horrific tactics are not new — they were perfected by the Russian army during a brutal war in Syria.

I Don't Want Children Because I Don't Want Children

LA STAMPA

Italy's low fertility rate and lack of support for young people have become a hot topic. But economic and social conditions are not what's stopping all Italian women from having children. Some simply want to do other things with their lives. Does that make them selfish, asks Italian writer Simonetta Sciandivasci.

Hu Jintao Ejected, My Grandpa's Advice — A Personal Reflection On Xi Jinping

WORLDCRUNCH

The 20th congress of the Chinese Communist Party ended as we knew it would: with Xi Jinping's well-choreographed anointment for a third term and the naming of a politburo completely loyal to him. Scary stuff for China's future, our journalist writes ...

Meet Karina Pintarelli: The First Recognized Trans Survivor Of Argentina’s Dictatorship

AGENCIA PRESENTES

Now 64, transgender poet and activist Karina Pintarelli suffered police torture under the military dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s. After a long legal fight, she became the first trans victim of the regime to be granted monetary reparations by the Argentine Justice Ministry for persecution inflicted because of her gender identity.

Iran Protests, Dissent In The Ranks: Interview With A Mole Inside The Revolutionary Guard

KAYHAN-LONDON

A member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards tells Kayhan-London that while they must stay hidden, "many" policemen, soldiers and officials sympathize with the mass protests against the Islamist regime. He also shares information about Iran's role in the Ukraine war.

​Crypto And Cannabis, Best Buds At Last

AMERICA ECONOMIA

As cannabis is legalized in more places, investors are taking note. One Luxembourg-based, Uruguayan-led fund has found an innovative way to bypass banking obstacles and raise capital.

​The Queen’s Death Is The Perfect Time To Talk About What's Wrong With The Monarchy

WORLDCRUNCH

Not everyone in Britain is mourning the death of the Queen. There is increasing concern about how the monarch's death is being used to repress freedom of expression and protest.

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Society

Imperfect Victim: What A Chinese Series About Sexual Assault Can And Can't Say

A new melodrama broadcast in China about sexual assault in the workplace is a sign that some difficult questions are being addressed, but that serious taboos remain in Chinese society and public life.

Poster from a series showing two women and a man.

Poster for the "Imperfect Victim" series.

Zhao Xiaoning

-Analysis-

BEIJING — Seeing the trailer for Imperfect Victim on TV was a harrowing experience: on a screen that is usually used as a backdrop, the face of an overwhelmed girl suddenly appears, along with several keywords, including "power imbalance." The advertisement explains that a drama about sexual assault in the workplace is being broadcast on Beijing Satellite Television and multiple other channels. It looks from the spot like a repeatedly banned subject is diving straight into the drama.

The story begins with a rape case reported anonymously by a third party. The victim, Zhao Xun, is a successful female assistant to the chairman of the board of directors, Cheng Gong. She is questioned by the police, her lawyer and the perpetrator of the crime, who sometimes affirms and sometimes denies the case.

During the course of the investigation, it was also discovered that after working in the company for only three months, she was transferred to a position that other colleagues had not reached despite working for several years, and that she had received luxury items purchased by Cheng Gong on the company's dime, which made her an "imperfect victim."

Cheng, as a perpetrator of sexual violence, was by no means unaware of Zhao’s conflict, or else he would not have covered up for himself by repeatedly bribing people who knew about it. Even he himself admitted that he likes Zhao not only because she is young, but also because he likes to see her "troubled face." However, Cheng still refuses to admit his crime on the grounds that Zhao did not resist.

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