Compiled by C. ARUNO, FARIK ZOLKEPLI and R. ARAVINTHAN
A VIDEO of a 40-year-old man kowtowing to his eight-year-old granduncle – that’s right – went viral online, sparking debates on the traditional practice, reported China Press.
The video, which was taken on Jan 22, showed a man bowing with his head touching the ground in front of a child as a form of respect.
The young boy stands up and hands the man an ang pow, which caused those who were watching it to break out in laughter.
According to local reports, the boy is a brother to the man’s grandfather and considered to be more senior in the family.
While many questioned if the practice of kowtowing is still relevant in today’s society, others were quick to make light of the situation.
Many shared stories of awkward encounters during Chinese New Year with grandnieces and grandnephews who were older than them.
“I have a granduncle who is only six years older than me. It’s so awkward whenever I have to address him (as granduncle),” an Internet user wrote.
Another recalled an incident where his friend had to change his aunt’s diapers – she was just a baby.
> Taiwanese-American singer Wang Leehom included veiled references to his explosive divorce in his upcoming song ONE, reported Sin Chew Daily.
Lyrics were leaked just days before his concert in Las Vegas of the same name on Jan 28.
The song contains lyrics such as “even if one has to fight alone, even if one were to hold himself empty-handed, there are too many things that can’t be avoided, rising from the ashes and flying even with broken wings”.Many Internet users speculate that Wang was referring to facing his divorce alone after ex-wife Lee Jinglei accused him of various misdeeds throughout their marriage, including multiple infidelities, soliciting prostitutes and being verbally abusive and bullying her.
It is also believed that Wang was referring to the loneliness he felt being away from his children who are currently living with Lee in Taiwan.
It was earlier reported that Lee described how Wang maintained several “friends-with-benefits” relationships with women after their marriage.
Wang and Lee are still fighting for the custody of their two children in court.
The two got married in 2013 and have three children together.
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.
