Vaccine garments become latest trend in China

Compiled by CLARISSA CHUNG and C. ARUNO

WITH the increase in Covid-19 vaccinations in China, the search for shoulder-baring garments has started to trend in cyberspace, China Press reported.

The keywords “shoulder-baring garments” and “vaccine garments” surged several-fold on China’s largest online shopping site Taobao in the past week.

Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, reported that posts with the words “vaccine garments” trended throughout the past week, having accumulated more than 330 million views.

Online businesses have picked up on the trend and are currently tagging their products with these keywords, making it easier for the public to find them.

One of the most popular products tagged as a “vaccine garment” on Taobao is a men’s long-sleeved shirt that has a zipper opening at the top of the arm.

“Doctors love this shirt. You can immediately get a jab right after you sit down, ” a buyer wrote in the reviews section.

According to data released by Taobao, men make up 10% of those who searched for the words “shoulder-baring garments”.

> The daily also reported that watching the award-winning Malaysian movie The Story of Southern Islet has made popular Taiwanese author Giddens Ko miss Malaysia and its food, especially bak kut teh.

The 42-year-old, who often visits Malaysia before the pandemic and has a dedicated fan base in the country, said the movie made him miss both the country and bak kut teh.

“When I was watching the movie, it made me miss Malaysia. If I had known I would go two years without having a taste of bak kut teh, I would have drunk 10 bowls in one go, ” he quipped.

Ko, who recently got to watch the film on the big screen in Taiwan, wrote that he enjoyed it as it was not “your typical kind of horror movie”.

“It is an elegant and terrifying movie. If you like the typical horror flick, The Story of Southern Islet could change your taste in the genre. You won’t have to watch the movie and keep wondering when the next scare will happen, ” he wrote on Facebook.

The Story of Southern Islet was directed by Chong Keat Aun, a former radio presenter from Kedah who was recently named the best new director in Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards.

The film is about a woman’s quest to find a cure for her husband who was thought to have been cursed by black magic, and was inspired by Chong’s experiences growing up as well as local beliefs.

Chong directed, wrote and acted in the film, which was nominated for best original screenplay but lost.

The movie was shown in cinemas in Taiwan beginning April 1 but its premiere has been delayed in Malaysia due to Covid-19.

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.