Rui Chenggang

China's star TV anchor arrested just before airtime Beijing (CNN) -- Rui Chenggang's anchor chair was left empty for Friday night's national newscast on China Central Television after prosecutors detained the star journalist shortly before airtime, according to state media. The detention of the controversial TV anchor, known for his "big get" interviews as well as nationalistic sentiment, is the latest twist in a widening anti-corruption campaign in China. Prosecutors took Rui into custody less than an hour before the start of "Economic News," which his co-anchor presented alone. Speculation about Rui's troubles began last month when his longtime patron Guo Zhenxi, the head of state-run CCTV's financial news channel, was detained for allegedly accepting bribes. Several other senior figures at the channel were also implicated, the government said. 'Face of New China' Rui, 37, denied in a statement last month that he was under investigation. He tweeted last month to his 10 million followers on Sina Weibo -- China's equivalent of Twitter -- a philosophical conversation between two ancient Zen masters that implied time would eventually clear his name. State media cited CCTV sources on Saturday as saying that Rui's detention was closely linked to Guo's case, as well as an investigation into his own possible profiting from using CCTV resources. Rui, who's known for wearing designer suits and driving fast cars, commands more social media followers than any other CCTV personality and has been called the "face of the New China" by his admirers. His official CCTV bio says he has interviewed hundreds of business and political leaders around the world. Rui, who is fluent in English, began his broadcast career at CCTV's English-language service, but his stardom soared under Guo after the young journalist jumped to the network's financial news channel in 2008. An unapologetic self-promoter, he has authored two popular autobiographical books touting his friendship with the world's rich and powerful. Controversial figure Rui became a more divisive public figure as his celebrity grew. He successfully led a controversial campaign to kick Starbucks out of Beijing's Forbidden City in 2007, calling the American coffee shop's presence in the historic palace museum an encroachment on Chinese culture. He grabbed a global spotlight in 2010 when U.S. President Barack Obama said he would give the final question at a news conference in Seoul to South Korean media. "I'm actually Chinese, but I think I get to represent the entire Asia," Rui said as he grabbed the mic to ask a long-winded question on how Obama might prevent his policies from being misinterpreted. At an economic forum in northeastern China the following year, Rui asked Gary Locke, then the U.S. ambassador to China, a question that some critics called a nationalistic publicity stunt. Others applauded it as a sign of an increasingly confident China standing up to the United States. "My colleagues told me you flew economy class from Beijing to Dalian," Rui asked Locke. "Was that a reminder that the U.S. still owes China money?" Locke replied that it was standard government policy for American diplomats and other officials to fly coach. 'Tigers and flies' Rui's detention came on the heels of the downfall of several former high-ranking officials, including a retired top general of the 2 million-strong People's Liberation Army. Gen. Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission that runs the world's largest standing army, was expelled from the ruling Communist Party and handed over to prosecutors after being found to have accepted bribes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported early this month. Xu was also a member of the Politburo, China's decision-making body, before retiring in 2012. State media have characterized Xu as a big "military tiger" caught in the massive anti-graft campaign launched by President Xi Jinping, who is also the commander in chief. Xi banned official extravagance -- from banquets to year-end gifts -- and vowed to target "tigers and flies" alike in his fight against corruption, launched after he became head of the Communist Party in late 2012. He resolved to spare no one, regardless of position. Xinhua recently touted the capture of 30 "tigers" since Xi took power. Zhou Yongkang Some China watchers have noted ties between an increasing number of disgraced officials and Zhou Yongkang, the former domestic security czar who has been rumored to be under investigation for some time. Guo, the CCTV executive who was Rui's patron, has long been linked to a protege of Zhou. State media have reported official probes into many of Zhou's family members as well as former associates in the domestic security apparatus, state oil industry and southwestern Sichuan province -- three places Zhou once ruled. If he is actually charged, Zhou would become the highest-ranking official ever to face corruption charges in the history of the People's Republic. Some 182,000 officials were disciplined in 2013, while courts nationwide tried 23,000 corruption cases, according to the Communist Party's disciplinary commission. State media have cited the trial and conviction last year of former high-flying politician Bo Xilai -- which Bo supporters called politically motivated -- as one prime example of Xi's determination to clean up the party. 'Endemic corruption' Longtime China observers, however, point to the limits of Xi's war on corruption. "Corruption is so widespread and so endemic that campaigns are just not going to do it," said Frank Ching, a Hong Kong-based commentator and columnist on Chinese politics. "Something has to be done about the system." "There have been public calls for a law to require officials disclosing their assets. There has been no indication that they are going to do that. In fact, a number of people calling for this law have ended up in prison," Ching said. "I think people will be much more convinced of the seriousness of this anti-corruption campaign if there were a move to enact such a law."

My Future Wife

LaserShip SUCKS

All this time i been using Amazon and they decide to send my latest package this Lasership "lasershit" they deliver a package at 9:30am heolo i work at 8am, just leave the package at the door like UPS , FD/X and USPS but no they send me an email, no note on the door, so i call them and say leave at door they say ok we will do that tomorrow, tomorrow comes and go i call them saying why wasnt my package delivered yet and they say the driver had a personal matter to take care of and your package will not be delivered until tomorrow. (( where is his back up driver?, where is the stupidviser?. and third day im still waiting for my package and its 7:30pm ET. Amazon give me instructions on how to code my account to not ship any packages to me via Lasershit

Russian denied entry at Phuket International Airport over ‘visa’ crackdown

PHUKET: A Russian national was denied entry into Thailand by Phuket International Airport Immigration officers on April 21 and detained until she could be deported the next morning. Officers denied entry to Mariia Sgibneva, 26, more than a week before the May 3 crackdown on the “three-visa-and-out rule” aimed at stymieing international crime. “They stopped me at immigration, and ask me why I did so many visa runs. All my documents were okay. I returned from Russia in October,” Ms Sgibneva explained to the Phuket Gazette on Wednesday. Ms Sgibneva planned to return to her rented room in Bang Tao after a friend’s wedding in Kuala Lumpur. Instead, she was told that she had to book a ticket out of Thailand. “We checked Mariia’s information, it showed that she had frequently gone to Ranong for visa runs. This is often a sign of someone illegally working in Phuket,” Prapansak Prasansuk, chief of Immigration at the airport. After arriving in Phuket in October, Ms Sgibneva left to get a three-month tourist visa in November. She then completed a visa run in February. Subsequently, she left the country on March 21 for a visa run, then again to visit friends in Kuala Lumpur on March 30 and April 18. Ms Sgibneva explained to the Gazette that she planned to move from Phuket soon after she returned from the wedding, and decided against getting a three-month visa. “That’s why I didn’t go to the Thai embassy,” she said. “The first question they asked was if I had a departing ticket from Thailand – I didn’t. But not a big deal, I could buy one. I already knew when I was going to leave. I told them I could show them in 10 minutes, after I charged my phone to buy it.” Ms Sgibneva was instead asked to prove financial stability for her stay in Thailand. “They asked me to show them 20,000 baht in cash. I thought that by law I didn’t have to have the cash, it’s a lot of money. I thought I could show my bank account. They told me, ‘No it’s not possible.’ They wanted to see the cash,” she said. After Ms Sgibneva asked to be shown the law, the officers became rude, she said. “I have more than 20,000 baht in my bank account, but they told me they didn’t believe that it was my bank account. Because it was in Russian [whoen shown on her phone], they couldn’t understand,” she explained. Ms Sgibneva offered to change her bank’s webpage to English. She also offered to have a friend come to the airport with 20,000 baht cash for her. “They said, ‘No.’ They don’t believe me, and wanted to send me to Russia,” Ms Sgibneva said. The officers allegedly offered to buy her ticket for her, but Ms Sgibneva still didn’t have enough cash to cover a ticket. She refused to return to Russia, instead opting to take the next flight to Malaysia. Ms Sgibneva explained that she was able to have a friend buy the ticket for her. “After I showed them the ticket, they sent me to a room for people waiting to be deported from the country,” Ms Sgibneva said. However, Col Prapansak told the Gazette on Tuesday that his officers coordinated with the airline to take her back to Malaysia. “We did not hold her, as she was waiting in an area prepared by the airline,” Col Prapansak said. Ms Sgibneva reiterated to the Gazette that at about this time communication between herself and officers broke down, and that she was consistently dealt with rudely. “They didn’t want to speak with me. I asked if it was possible to get my documents and medicine [not critical] from my room, because I really needed them. I had more than six hours to bring my stuff from my house, but they didn’t even want to talk to me and explain to me what had happened,” Ms Sgibneva said. “Everybody is a human, maybe they hate me because I’m Russian, but it’s not a big question to answer: Can I bring my documents and medicine?” By the time an AirAsia staffer arrived and informed Ms Sgibneva that she would be able to bring luggage aboard, assuming a friend brought it to the airport, it was too late. “I think for some people who want to do a visa run, the biggest problem is that they can deport you without any reason. I can understand that there are many Russian tourists who cause problems with Thai police… but if you really want to find the people who work, find them at their workplace,” she said. Col Prapansak told the Gazette that he was sure his officers had clearly explained to Ms Sgibneva why she had been denied entry. Nonetheless, Ms Sgibneva said it was unclear to her until she reached Kuala Lumpur. Once in Malaysia she was told the official reason was “not clear reason to visit Phuket”. Ms Sgibneva’s clothing was donated by friends to a local temple, as she continues to search for a reasonably priced way to get several small belongings and her documents to Malaysia. “I was lucky that I have friends. Some people don’t have these kinds of possibilities. I don’t want to see someone else in this kind of story – Russian or non-Russian,” she said. Additional reporting by Woranut Pechdee - See more at: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Russian-denied-entry-Phuket-International-Airport-visa/29391#sthash.Ux259grL.dpuf

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