The death toll from a landslide in southwest China’s Guizhou Province on Monday morning rose to 26 on Thursday, with eight people injured and nine still missing, according to local authorities. Rescue workers continue to search for the missing. More t… read more
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is expected to convene on Oct. 18 in Beijing. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided at a meeting on Thursday to submit the proposal on the schedule to the seventh ple… read more
As bike-sharing services catch on in Beijing, the city has officially launched its first car-sharing pilot program, which would put 600 new energy vehicles on the streets of Shijingshan District. The pilot program is a joint effort between Shijingshan… read more
More students in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, are taking out loans for plastic surgery as access to the financial service increases.
About one-sixth of the 300 or so students who had cosmetic surgery at Guangzhou Huamei Aesthetic Hospital over the summer borrowed money for the purpose, according to Peng Weihong, assistant to the general manager of the hospital, one of the largest cosmetic surgery providers in the city.
Since mid-2015, a number of lenders targeting cosmetic surgery have tried to grab a slice of the market. Ant Financial Services Group, the online finance company backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, began offering loans and installment payment programs for cosmetic surgery in March, said Ke Sufang, a senior researcher at Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, a consulting agency.
Loans to students for cosmetic surgery at Peng’s hospital generally ranged from 10,000 to 30,000 yuan ($1,520 to $4,560), he said.
The boom in such loans is attributable to huge demand－the market sector was valued at 796.3 billion yuan in China last year, with annual growth of about 20 percent－as well as the hefty cost of the procedures, Ke said.
The Guangzhou Mylike Aesthetic Medicine clinic saw 40 percent growth in clients aged 18 to 24 in July over the same month last year, as the acceptance of cosmetic surgery continues to increase, according to public relations manager Du Xiuming.
Some students were accompanied by their parents, indicating a more open attitude on the matter, Du said.
Students mostly choose minor surgeries for double-folded eyelids, removal of acne and body hair, treating teeth and dermal fillers, Du said.
Students made up 12 percent of those opting for cosmetic surgery last year, behind only white-collar workers and people in the fashion industry, Ke said.
A postgraduate student in Beijing, who gave only his surname, Guo, said he had a dermal filler and a Botox injection in June that he paid for with 10,000 yuan borrowed from Alipay because people around him were doing it.
“Seeing the plastic surgeries my classmates got, I suddenly felt the urge to take out a loan to pay for it,” the 23-year-old said.
With part-time work, he paid off the loan in six months, “with a few hundred yuan in interest”, he said.
A 22-year-old college student from Shanxi province, who didn’t want to give her name, said that many students she knew had borrowed money to get plastic surgery.
She got her first loan－7,000 yuan－from an online lending platform shortly after Chinese New Year to change her eyelids and nose.
Representatives of a beauty institute had come to her school and told students that installment payments would be accepted, so she grabbed the chance and took the loan.
“I had no savings to pay for the surgery, and my family still has traditional opinions, so it was hard to get their approval or financial support,” she said.
By cutting costs she paid back the loan in three months, she said, adding that she would do it again.
Huamei Aesthetic Hospital’s Peng thought the number of students seeking plastic surgery would continue to expand, with more people believing in the importance of appearance in success, and with the influence of TV drama stars and internet celebrities.
Ke, however, said loans for cosmetic surgery may become harder to get, as the authorities have tightened rules for on-campus loans.
The loan market remains chaotic, and students, given their relatively weak spending power and immature judgment, may have trouble repaying loans and are prone to default, Ke said.
Peng Peng, vice-chairman of the experts committee at South Nongovernmental Think-Tank, said students should assess their financial capabilities before borrowing money and warned against loan sharks and “naked loans”, which involve extortion. The lenders demand nude photos of borrowers that they threaten to release if payment isn’t made.
Cosmetic surgery does not necessarily lead to a good job, he said.
read moreA new hospital will be built in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, near the border of China and Russia, to cater to the increasing number of Russians seeking healthcare services in China.
The Heihe China-Russia Friendship Hospital will have 600 beds and is expected to become a top international hospital and develop into a major platform for medical exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, the government of Heihe said.
Sun Hongtao, president of Heihe No 1 People’s Hospital, who will serve as president of the new hospital, said approval had been given by the Heilongjiang provincial Health and Family Planning Commission, and that construction is likely to begin next year. It is slated to start providing services in 2019.
A nursing facility that occupies 8.4 hectares and accommodates 800 seniors will be built along with the hospital to provide nursing and healthcare services, he said.
“The hospital and nursing home will mainly receive Chinese and Russians, but they will also accept people from other countries,” Sun said.
The hospital will be the only one of its kind in China, he said.
“It will greatly improve medical services for the large number of tourists from Russia in Heihe and neighboring areas,” Sun said. “For example, they can be sent to the hospital for proper treatment in case of emergency.”
After opening, the hospital will be assisted by Heihe No 1 People’s Hospital－the major hospital in the city. Top hospitals and medical schools in China and Russia will also provide support, he said.
Amur Oblast, a Russian territory across the Heilong River from Heihe, also needs such a hospital for some patients, Sun said.
“Some hospitals in Harbin, Heilongjiang’s capital, are receiving a great number of Russian patients with cerebral palsy,” he said. “We expect Russian patients with the disease will seek treatment at the China-Russia Friendship Hospital in Heihe, since it will be on their doorstep.”
Tao Wei, director of the department of oral medicine at Heihe No 1 People’s Hospital, said last year that the hospital received more than 600 patients with dental problems from Russia seeking medical treatment.
“Compared with some hospitals in Russia, we offer more convenient services,” he said. “A patient can finish a dental implant within five days at our hospital, while in a hospital in Russia it may take weeks or even longer.”
More than 8,000 seniors from Russia visited Heihe in the first half of the year for tours and healthcare services, according to the city’s publicity department.
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