Round Table 圆桌议事

In flashy new talent contest "The Rap of China," participants vie for golden chains that spell "R!CH," but the show itself has received mixed reviews and even two "diss tracks." Why is that? Will hip hop music become more mainstream in China?RT要搬家喽！从7月开始，Round Table将在㊭鵝fм上回放我们的节目，主播名称是“China Plus”。赫扬、Ryan和牛牛都在那里等你哦！

Social media platforms such as Wechat have become a primary source for us to receive news. And now, parents are also raising and rearing kids following orders by some Wechat public accounts. A mother from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, refused to take her 1-year-old daughter to hospital after the baby caught a severe fever, simply because a Wechat public account said people should let the children recover by themselves. Why do parents listen to what those accounts say? Are there any government organs to supervise such accounts?

The recent high-profile arson case in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, shocked many people in China. A nanny allegedly murdered a mother and her 3 children by setting a luxury apartment on fire, has once again highlighted China's chaotic domestic worker market.

China’s mobile game sector is seeing considerable growth as online games become more and more popular among smartphone users. According to a new report from data tracker App Annie, Chinese companies are behind nine of the ten most lucrative mobile games in the Apple app store globally in terms of gaming revenue in May, a first-time dominance of the global gaming industry.

A video showing the knife skills of a Michelin star chef has become the subject of mockery and ridicule. As Chinese internet users claim their moms can easily beat the chef in a slicing and dicing competition. What qualifies a top chef?

The National Meteorological Center has issued a yellow alert for rainstorms in Beijing. The larger area in north China is also experiencing rainstorm or thunderstorm today. Whenever a severe rainstorm strikes, it puts city management to test. Would big cities like Beijing be ok during this summer?

If you have a question for us for the RT team, regarding the hosts, the show, life, send in a voice document to [email protected], and be part of our live show!

According to a report on Civil Pilots in China, most pilots with a private aircraft driving license were born in the 1990s. Instead of having it as a hobby, most of them hope to make a living with this skill. Let's look into the making of pilots of private jets.

A video showing legions of elderly people power-walking at the middle of the street in the coastal city of Qingdao has gone viral. One would have thought the middle of the street is for vehicles to go through. Why would the elderly occupy the middle of the street?

The classic Japanese TV series “Shinya Shokudo,” or “Midnight Diner,” debuted its Chinese version this week. Unfortunately, the series has been deemed as an epic fail in the history of Chinese adaptation of foreign TV shows. According to Douban, China’s most cited entertainment rating website, it has received the lowest-ever viewer score for a television series this year. Why is the reception for the Chinese version so bad?

June the sixteenth marks the season finale of China's most popular online debate show Qi Pa Shuo (aka You Can, You Bibi), which brings together a group of diverse and vocal Chinese people. That includes Ma Jianyue, one of the thirty members of an all-girls idol group, who claimed that Qi Pa Shuo is her ONLY job opportunity for the entire year. Is the multiple member idol group still a star incubator in show biz?

If you have a question for us for the RT team, regarding the hosts, the show, life, send in a voice document to [email protected], and be part of our live show!

Can you spell "sauerkraut" without looking? How about "Chihuahua," or perhaps "pneumonia?" If spelling those words trips you up, don't worry — you're not alone.Google released a map of the words residents of each state in the US tend to have the hardest time spelling. The project is in honor of the National Spelling Bee in May.

Recently, two graduation speeches given by Chinese students at US universities have received polar reactions from Chinese netizens. What makes a good commencement speech?

China is the biggest consumer of beer in the world, but during the last three years, Chinese people are drinking less beer, why is that?

Today, 9.4 million Chinese high school students are sitting the country’s grueling two-day college entrance examination, also known as the Gaokao. It was the Chinese Literature exam for most of the places across the country this morning. The students are probably taking lunch or having a nap for a rest now. This year also marks the 40 years of anniversary of the Gaokao since it was resumed in 1977.

Are you a veteran in your company and just feel like coasting through your working hours? Some people think it's easy being a slacker at work, only doing whatever the boss asks, but never anything more. But another perspective would say, being a slacker, is a waste of one's life.

A college in south China is implementing strict measures to stop cheating in exams. The most controversial being: without a teacher supervising the exam, if one student is caught cheating, the marks of all the students in the class will be invalid. So, everyone’s punished for one person’s mistake? Is that reasonable?

In our weekly segment called "RoundTable's Happy Place", we'll share what's made us happy this week.

A video showing primary school students crying after listening to a speech on gratitude education goes viral. Some criticize the so-called gratitude education as a form brain wash. What is gratitude education? Do you agree? Should it be part of education?

A woman living in Wuhan, Hubei Province has been asked by her father to sponsor 100 thousand Yuan so that her little brother can buy an apartment. The father said it’s the big sister’s responsibility to financially assistant the little brother. It must be done.Is it blatant favoritism towards the son? When do you stop supporting a sibling?

The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating Zong Zi (glutinous rice wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats. As we are celebrating the traditional festival today in China, let's talk about all the interesting things about this holiday.

We&`&ll introduce a new segment of the show called "RoundTable&`&s Happy Place." We&`&ll share what&`&s making us happy this week.

As living standards in China improve, our waistlines have expanded accordingly over the past few decades. The phenomenon poses serious threat to our health condition and increases the burden on China's healthcare system. At the same time, more kids are overweight, which becomes a rising concern over the country's future.

We’ll introduce a new segment of Round Table called “Round Table, Heart to Heart.” We will play questions from listeners and answer them on the live show. Have your question been chosen? You’ll need to listen to find out!If you have a question for us for the RT team, regarding the hosts, the show, society, life, send them in by a voice document to [email protected], send in your voice and be part of our show!

A young man in Hangzhou has changed his name due to the fact that one character is too difficult to comprehend. In a digital era of mobile payment, the young man complains a difficult name that can’t even be recognized by the computer makes life a million times more difficult.

Learning a foreign language opens us up to new experiences, work opportunities, and allows us to meet people we may never have otherwise. More than that, research has shown learning a language can also physically change brain structure, adjust perception or even change moral decisions.Would you sacrifice one person to save five? Such moral choices could depend on whether you are using a foreign language or your native tongue.

Round Table talks with Jacqueline Hughes, the star of Wicked, the musical.

A video showing a female college student kicking a noisy kid in a restaurant has gone viral. The attitude of most internet users shocked us. As the majority of comments appear to support the violent behavior. Saying the naughty kid should be spanked. Why is that?

A college student was hugged by his girlfriend on campus, as a result, he was beaten up by a group of students who are members of the Student Self-discipline Committee. They say hugging on campus is against the rules. What rules? Who's to decide on them?

Intranets on campus, governmental organizations, financial organizations and gas stations in one hundred and fifty countries have fallen victim to a ransomware named WannaCry.The spread of the virus slowed on Monday as no major organizations reported to have been impacted by the global cyberattack. The hackers behind the global cyberattack are still unidentified.What is the virus? How can we protect our computers?

A company in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, is rewarding its employees not in productivity or creativity, but in shedding a few extra pounds. Why is the boss interested in the weight of employees?

Imagine this: you are casually walking down the street of Sanlitun, a hip area in Beijing known for shopping and colorful nightlight. It is the place to see and be seen. A stranger with a camera stops you and tells you "congratulations! You are the next big star!" pay a fee and make that happen. You think: great, I've been discovered! Actually, it is all a lie…you have been scammed.

Round Table talks with special guest Dr. Bernarld Schwartlander, World Health Organization Representative in China.

Chinese students have all been asked to recite classic ancient poems and passages by our teachers. It is quite the challenge, as classic literature is written in archaic style of the Chinese language, which is difficult to understand and remember. Now a new generation of artists has revised an ancient poem "Song of the Lute Player" into a pop music. We are lovin' it! What's the charm of mixing the old with the new?

Bringing a specially selected bottle of wine to a dinner party so that you can share your beloved drink with your friends can be such a delight, until you are charged with a ludicrously high corkage fee for it! What would you do? Pay the corkage fee? Or fight for your rights?

When Ms. Sun sat on the examination chair in a hospital in Shenyang, she had no idea her thigh would be pierced by a needle that was left there by a nurse accidentally. She demanded compensation worth 3 hundred thousand euros (2.27 million Yuan), but the hospital was only willing to pay 500 Yuan. Should the hospital pay more? What does the law say on punitive damages in China?

Recently, People's Park in the city of Zhengzhou, Henan province has banned dance off battles all together. The park authorities say the dance is too embarrassing for people to watch, and it makes park-goers uncomfortable. But the dancers seem to enjoy it.Who's embarrassed by it, the audience or the park of the city?

A coach of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is challenging all traditional martial arts masters after he knocked down a self-proclaimed Taichi master. Does that mean the traditional Chinese martial arts are on the decline?

Many storefronts facing the street have been dismantled in Beijing and Shanghai since the beginning of the year. Windows along the street have been sealed, walls have been built to replace the door or window, and many shops have been closed. Why is the move?

A trend is quietly sweeping up Chinese education institutions from kindergarten to high school. Every move students and teachers make in classrooms and even dormitories are recorded and live streamed through online platforms such as Shuidi Zhibo. Is it too late to talk about privacy? Is it legal?

Love will make people do crazy things—but who would have known those things could also be so professional?A student at the University of Minnesota has gone viral for creating a detailed PowerPoint presentation to convince her crush to date her. Lizzy Fenton—who must have picked up some skills while studying genetics, cell biology, and development—took to Twitter to share the six-slide argument she prepared for her crush Carter.

Domestic shoe brands such as Belle and Daphne used to occupy the women's shoe section in big department stores. However, the popularity of these brands is dwindling among most customers. Why is it?

A 14-year-old girl jumped off the school building and died after she was reported by classmates for cheating in an exam. Who should take the blame for the tragedy? Should you report to the teacher if you found a fellow classmate was cheating in exams?

A university bans students from ordering takeout. Penalties such as cutting off electricity will ensue if food delivery is found in dormitories. Any student that reports on a fellow student, will receive 500 Yuan as a reward.

Playback of RT‘s off-line fan meeting:Heyang and Ryan meet RT's hard core fans and talks about studying abroad with a mysterious expert and a representative of oversea returnees, Huang Shan.

The plight of a couple whose only daughter insists on marrying a foreigner and staying abroad has gone viral on social media recently in China. The Chinese parents sold their house to support their daughter's study in the U.S. , but her decision of staying in the U.S. and marrying an American guy has deeply hurt the parent's feelings. The father regrets that the worst decision was to send their daughter to study overseas.

Three-meter tall bus stop signposts are creating problems for passengers, in Jianyang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, to see and read. Why are there such user-unfriendly facilities?

When we just get used to seeing the army of sharing bikes lining side by side near the subway station, the application of sharing portable chargers is on the rise. Although its coverage is limited now, some still look forward to its promising future. So, what do we use sharing portable chargers? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What's the future of this industry?