Category Archives: Uncategorized

Actress Qi Wei Breaks Tradition, Bestows Second Child With Her Surname

On May 27, Chinese actress Qi Wei made a joyous announcement to her 48 million followers on Weibo: Qi and her Korean American husband Li Chengxuan (aka Nathan Lee) are expecting their second child. Chinese netizens have been especially invested in Qi’s second pregnancy ever since the actress announced that her second child would inherit her family name, Qi.

Contrary to naming traditions in the West, women in China do not adopt their husband’s surname after being wed. Nonetheless, it is common practice for children to inherit paternal surnames in China, which makes Qi and Lee’s decision atypical.

“Before I even gave birth to Lucky [the couple’s first child], we discussed and agreed that if we had children in the future, our first child would take Li’s last name while the second would take mine,” said Qi in a livestream.

qi wei

A screenshot of Qi Wei’s livestream in which she announced her second child’s last name. Image via Weibo

Not only has the hashtag related to Qi’s announcement accumulated more than 200 million views, but many have also written in to applaud the couple’s decision.

“This is how it should be. No law requires a child to inherit its father’s surname,” posted a netizen on microblogging platform Weibo.

“For a public figure such as Qi to be doing this sends a nice message. I hope more women can fight for their rights to pass their last names on to their children,” wrote another.

Some have shared their hopes that matriarchal naming traditions will be normalized: “I hope this practice can be more common in the future.”

On the other hand, others think it matters not whose last name the child adopts: “It is the couple’s child. Taking dad’s last name or mom’s last name is the same thing.”

According to state-back online publication Sixth Tone, the Chinese surname inheritance system is “a defining characteristic of the country’s traditional patriarchal family structures, which greatly emphasized the need to have sons to carry on the family name.”

If anything, Qi’s big announcement underscores an increased awareness of the importance of challenging old-fashioned traditions, including passing down a father’s surname to the next generation.

Cover image via Qi Wei’s official Weibo

Haircuts, Skaters, Champagne: Shanghai’s First Few Days of Freedom

As the clock struck midnight on June 1, the lockdown in Shanghai was officially lifted for most of the city’s 26 million citizens. Residents in low-risk compounds are now free to roam the streets while enjoying the warm spring air.

Freed from (most of) the shackles of anti-Covid lockdown measures, many have fled their homes in the past 24 hours, carrying champagne bottles and Bluetooth speakers into the streets and letting loose.

A disconnect between the official lifting of the lockdown and the city’s remaining anti-Covid restrictions (many businesses are still shuttered) has birthed a new phenomenon: Streetside hair salons have popped up around the city — it isn’t unusual to see men, women and kids sitting (or standing) on sidewalks as hairdressers snip off their unruly lockdown locks.

shanghai lockdown

A customer getting his hair cut at Tony Chen’s pop-up salon in Jing’an district

Born in Anhui province, Tony Chen, 40, has been a hairdresser in Shanghai for almost 20 years. He lives and works in central Shanghai, specifically in Jing’an district.

“I started coming out to work about a week ago as soon as my compound eased restrictions,” Chen tells RADII. “I have not had any source of income for the past month and a half, but I still had to pay rent for my apartment and the hair salon. I’ve really been struggling to make ends meet.”

Like Chen, many other barbers have also decided to reopen their businesses outdoors. Most have chosen a spot close to their salon, enabling their regulars to find them easily.

Some essential tools of the trade for ‘outdoor barbers’ are a stool, a cape, and a hairdressing kit. Chen also chooses to set up a full-length mirror and play music on a Bluetooth speaker to create a pleasant environment for his customers.

“It helps me get through the day and puts a smile on people’s faces after this rough time.”

Chen’s street salon serves 30 clients a day on average and up to 42 customers on particularly busy days.

shanghai lockdown

Chen brings a mirror, a broom, a Bluetooth speaker, and hairdressing tools to his chosen spot every day

Prior to lockdown, Chen charged his customers between 108 RMB (16 USD) for men and 228 RMB (34 USD) for women. But the public has been enjoying his haircuts for half the usual price.

“I charge less because I can’t wash their hair here on the street, and the overall experience is not as comfortable [as being in a proper salon],” said the hairstylist. “They might also have struggled financially during the lockdown, so I try to keep my prices down.”

shanghai lockdown

Street massage parlors have also popped up in Shanghai’s city center

Anyone who has not enjoyed an ‘alfresco hair appointment’ should seize the opportunity while they can.

On May 31, Chen was informed that he would soon be able to reopen his salon. As such, he has been rushing to restock his supplies and disinfect the space.

“I liked working outdoors and was able to connect with new customers, but I can’t wait to reopen my salon,” said the hairstylist.

A young couple sits outside of a market enjoying skewers and milk tea. Image courtesy of Haedi Yue

A young couple sits outside of a market enjoying skewers and milk tea. Image courtesy of Haedi Yue

While many have prioritized getting a haircut straight out of lockdown, as exemplified by a trending hashtag on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, others have been itching to carry out other activities.

Ian Wu, 25, a student from Fujian province, knew what his first activity would be as soon as he was freed on May 30: “I went straight to West Bund to skate. I was there for five hours, skating until nighttime.”

Local skaters hanging out at a local skating spot colloquially known as the ‘Seven Stairs’ in Shanghai’s West Bund

West Bund, a public space facing the Huangpu River, is known to locals as a popular spot for recreational activities such as skateboarding, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, picnics, and even daytime camping.

Although some of Shanghai’s metro lines have yet to resume normal operations, Wu willingly pedaled to West Bund for half an hour to reach his destination.

shanghai west bund

The area adjacent to the Long Art Museum in West Bund is one of the city’s hottest skate spots and was quickly reclaimed by the community on June 1

Unsurprisingly, Wu was not alone at West Bund.

On May 31 and June 1, thousands of citizens sped to the iconic hangout spot to stake out their places on the grassy areas to play music, dance, and engage in outdoor activities.

shanghai lockdown

On June 1, a group of young residents went to have a picnic in Shanghai’s Pudong district. Image courtesy of Haedi Yue

While many are prioritizing outdoor activities, others don’t seem to mind staying indoors if it means getting in some retail therapy.

Customers line up outside of the Chanel store in Plaza 66, Jing’an district

June 1 saw the reopening of some of Shanghai’s biggest shopping malls, including prestigious establishments such as Plaza 66 and IAPM.

Dozens lined up outside their favorite luxury stores, ready for some revenge shopping after the two-month lockdown. To each their own, we say!

Unless otherwise stated, all images courtesy of Beatrice Tamagno

New Doc Profiles America’s First Chinese American Female Mayor

Rounding up RADII’s content for AAPI Heritage Month is a film recommendation: Rocking the Boat: The Story of Lily Lee Chen, a short documentary about America’s first Chinese American woman mayor, premieres online on May 26 at 5 PM PST, and guess who got the inside scoop from filmmaker Nox Yang?

The 17-minute-long documentary explores Chen’s experience of running for the Monterey Park mayor’s office and her journey of advocating for Asian American rights in the 1980s.

Stay on after the film premiere for a panel discussion moderated by award-winning journalist Lisa Ling. Joining Ling are several prominent Asian American leaders and history-makers: First U.S. ambassador of Asian descent Julia Chang Bloch, first Chinese American congresswoman Judy Chu, co-founder of nonprofit organization Stop AAPI Hate Dr. Russell Jeung, as well as Chen, and film director Yang.

Lily Lee Chen documentary

Scan the QR code in the promotional image above to register for the documentary premiere

A little backstory: It was in May 2020 that Yang first heard of Ms. Lily Lee Chen. The discovery coincided with a low period in her life: The filmmaker had just lost a student government election at UCLA, missing her chance to become an international student representative. However, hearing Chen’s success story empowered her.

“Someone [Chen] who also didn’t come from this country ran a campaign on a city level back in the 1980s — not to mention as a woman of color — and actually WON?!!” posted Yang on Facebook.

Even then, she knew that she wanted to document Chen’s story.

Lily Lee Chen

A newspaper clipping of an article about Lily Lee Chen

When Chen agreed to be the subject of Yang’s documentary, the filming process brought them close together. Yang soon discovered her subject’s strong personality.

“She has her own ways of getting things done, no matter what it takes, and that really taught me a lot,” says the filmmaker. “Coming from a disadvantaged position, sometimes you need to be aggressive and tough. We need such people to step up and to speak up for the whole community.”

The director specifically names Chen’s commendable efforts in protesting the English-only movement. The political movement was established in 1907 and aimed to establish English as the only official language in America. It still holds sway in some parts of America today.

“It was really awful back then, but Lily was there. She had the courage to speak up for the Asian community, which really changed people’s perspectives on immigrants,” says Yang.

Lily Lee Chen

Lily Lee Chen

More than a testament to the inspiring story of Chen, Rocking the Boat: The Story of Lily Lee Chen is also a moving collaboration between two Chinese women at very different points in their lives: Yang, a Chinese national in her early 20s and a fresh grad from an American college, and Chen, an accomplished Chinese American politician in her 80s who dedicated her life to racial justice.

Despite their different nationalities and ages, Yang and Chen have a shared passion: Using their voices to advocate for social justice.

lily lee chen

Lily Lee Chen and Nox Yang on set

Even though she is a Chinese national, Yang grew interested in Asian American politics after relocating to the U.S. for her studies. After leaving her comfort zone and embracing her position as a woman of color living in America, she gained a true sense of being a minority.

“The things going on within Asian American community immediately felt very relevant,” she says. “Through political participation, I learned that without representation, you don’t have a voice.”

The young documentary filmmaker strives to use the power of storytelling to raise awareness of racial justice, humanize her community, and build meaningful connections.

We can’t wait to watch Chen’s impressive journey unfold through Yang’s lens.

More event information and premiere registration of Rocking the Boat: The Story of Lily Lee Chen can be found here.

All images via Nox Yang

Chinese Netizens Slam Audi and Andy Lau for Ad Plagiarism

German luxury carmaker Audi recently came under fire on Chinese social media for its new advertisement featuring veteran Hong Kong star Andy Lau. According to allegations, the ad is pretty much an exact rip-off of an earlier video by Chinese vlogger Beida Mange.

On May 22, one day after releasing the video, Audi, Lau, and London-based advertising agency M&C Saatchi apologized and withdrew the advertisement.

“We sincerely apologize for troubling Andy Lau, Beida Mange, and any other parties due to a lack of supervision and a lax video review,” posted Audi on Weibo.

Nevertheless, the scandal has remained a heated topic over the past few days, with a related hashtag accumulating more than 520 million views. Many Chinese netizens are still debating who should be held responsible for the fiasco.

Andy Lau Audi Ad

Screenshots of Audi’s video advertisement starring Andy Lau

In the plagiarized ad, Lau is seen taking an Audi for a cruise in the countryside. Known as one of China’s ‘Kings of Cantopop’ and for starring in smash hits like House of the Flying Daggers, the actor explains the meaning behind Xiaoman, the eighth solar term in the Chinese calendar (May 21 this year).

Beida Mange

Beida Mange exposing Audi on Douyin

Though beautifully worded, Lau’s grand speech had essentially been stolen from one of Beida Mange’s videos from 2021.

On the evening of May 21, the influencer posted a seven-minute video on Douyin, China’s equivalent of TikTok, alerting his 3 million followers that he’d been plagiarized.

Andi Lau Audi Ad

Screenshots comparing Andi Lau’s Audi Ad to Beida Mange’s 2021 video

Most criticisms have been directed at Audi, not Lau, although the actor has not escaped unscathed.

One fan rose to Lau’s defense by asking, “Why should an actor take responsibility for the script?”

“Andy Lau was paid to be filmed in the Audi ad, and he has fulfilled the corresponding obligation,” opined a Weibo user identifying themselves as a lawyer.

Meanwhile, a third netizen commented, “China is a country ruled by law; everyone should respectively share legal responsibility.”

At the time of writing, the vlogger had not taken legal action.

All images via Weibo

It’s Official: RADII Is Now on TikTok!

It’s official: RADII is on TikTok!

RADII’s first TikTok video, a fun sizzle reel, went live on May 18. Seek out more content — from side-splitting memes to eye-opening educational snaps — related to the rarely explored sides of Chinese youth culture by hitting that pink ‘follow’ button.

Followers can also expect videos about the hottest Chinese trends, China’s evolving nightlife scene, food and drink cravings, and explanations of quirky Chinese slang, to name just a few.

@radii.media

What does it mean to “inhale cats?” #fyp #meows #catproblems #catmom #catsoftiktok #learnontiktok #chinese #learnchinese #mandarin #chinese #slang #easychinese

♬ original sound – RADIIMedia – RADIIMedia

@radii.media

Say what now? We’re not making this up: That’s really the title of #EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce in Taiwan. @a24 #movieclips #moviereview #michelleyeoh #asianamerican #aapiheritagemonth

♬ original sound – RADIIMedia – RADIIMedia

@radii.media

Fermented food has been around for thousand of years, but it’s up to #Chinese youth to carry on their legacy. #paocai #china #food #foodtok #fyp #chinesefood #foodrecipe #kimchi #pickles #learnontiktok

♬ original sound – RADIIMedia – RADIIMedia

In addition to keeping you updated on trending topics, RADII will never waver from producing original, exclusive content. Our mission, after all, is to captivate the world through stories that transcend boundaries.

@radii.media

We are the window to modern Chinese culture. We captivate the world through stories that transcend boundaries. We are RADII. #fyp #china #chinese #culture #chinesetiktok #chinatiktok #chinesestreetfashion #brucelee #foodtiktok #chineseculture #viral #foryou #shanghai #beijing #radiichina #chinastyle #chinafood #technology

♬ original sound – RADIIMedia – RADIIMedia

Now go on, open up your TikTok app and follow RADII for some of the best Chinese youth culture-related video content on the internet!

Cover image via Alexander Shatov/Unsplash

AAPI Heritage Month: Everything You Were Too Self-Conscious to Ask

What does AAPI stand for? Who is considered AAPI? Why do Americans celebrate AAPI Heritage Month in May? And why should you care about AAPI?

If any of the above questions has ever flashed through your mind, wonder no more. Please think of this article as a crash course on the relatively new celebration and how to make the most out of it!

What Does AAPI Stand For?

An acronym for Asian American and Pacific Islander, AAPI encompasses a sprawling population, from naturalized immigrants to second-, third- or fourth-generation Americans of Asian or Pacific Islander background.

Data compiled by the United States Census Bureau in 2020 revealed that 25.6 million American citizens identify as AAPI, accounting for 8.04% of the country’s population.

The term AAPI has been hailed by many for its inclusiveness, though others have complained it’s a sweeping label that erases the identity of diverse cultures.

“AAPI is incredibly ambitious. It contends to cover and speak for some of the largest regions in the world … In some ways, marginalization and erasure feel inevitable,” said Tavae Samuelu, the executive director of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, in a 2021 Vox article.

Despite the pushback in some quarters, AAPI is still the most common term for Americans who trace their heritage to Asia or the Pacific Islands.

Why May?

AAPI Heritage Month dates back to 1978, when the U.S. Congress proclaimed the first week of May as AAPI Heritage Week. The weeklong observance was extended to an entire month in 1990.

May was chosen because it coincides with two milestones related to Asian history in the U.S.: The arrival of the first Japanese immigrants on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad — built with major help from Chinese laborers — on May 10, 1869.

Despite their contributions to a landmark piece of American transportation infrastructure, the U.S.’s first wave of Chinese immigrants was met with anti-Chinese sentiment along the West Coast. Long story short: Tensions eventually exploded, resulting in the Chinese Exclusion Act (also a May event, passed on May 6, 1882), which effectively prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers until 1943.

Unfortunately, as Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana once eloquently — and famously — put it, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And when it comes to anti-Asian hate in many Western nations, the past does indeed seem to be echoing in the 2020s.

Should You Care?

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Asian people in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and elsewhere have fallen victim to an uptick in discrimination, stereotyping, and, in extreme cases, violence and death.

We’ve seen high-profile politicians in the U.S. use derogatory terms like ‘kung flu’ and ‘Chinese virus’ to refer to Covid, as well as the resurgence of dated tropes that harken back to the days of Chinese exclusion in America (so, yeah, the past does seem to repeat itself). This racist language has likely fueled anti-Asian sentiment and allowed it to thrive unchallenged in a toxic political climate.

So ask yourself: What better time than now to uphold America’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities? Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month empowers AAPI populations and serves as a chance to challenge problematic — and frankly, racist — narratives championed by certain political camps and media outlets. It also provides an opportunity for minorities to champion equality and representation while discovering and taking pride in their roots.

‘What if I’m not Asian or Pacific American?’ you ask? Our answer takes the form of another question: Has anyone ever lost out by acquiring new knowledge?

Cover image by Lori Hillsberg/Flickr