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<strong><br /></strong><ul><li><strong>According to a recent study posted by PLOS, <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> ranks number one globally for the most cases of these 11 <keyword id="916291" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="neglected-tropical-diseases">neglected tropical diseases</keyword>.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>In spite of that, India has made a significant progress in the recent years towards NTD control and elimination.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Today, as the International Tropic’s Day is being celebrated globally, India has the chance to bring global focus on the solutions of the issue. </strong><br /></li></ul>According to a recent <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0006038">study</a> posted by the Public Library of Science (<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0005424">PLOS</a>), India ranks number one globally for the most number of cases when it comes to 11 neglected <keyword id="918542" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="tropical-diseases">tropical diseases</keyword> (NTD). The NTDs include Ascariasis, Hookworm disease, Trichuriasis, <keyword id="6360092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dengue">Dengue</keyword>, Lymphatic filariasis (LF), Trachoma, Cysticercosis, <keyword id="54776" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Leprosy">Leprosy</keyword>, Cystic echinococcosis, <keyword id="958654" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Visceral-leishmaniasis">Visceral leishmaniasis</keyword> and <keyword id="6429043" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="rabies">Rabies</keyword>. <br /><br />NTD’s are a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions across 149 countries, which also includes India, according to <a href="http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/en/">WHO</a>. <br /><br />A study by <a href="http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/en/">WHO</a> affirms this in a report that suggests that India has the most number of total cases of all major NTDs excluding those that are spatially bound because of transmission through unique insects or snails (e.g., schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, human African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease). Looking at the figures, it is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5863936/">possible </a>that India’s high ranking extends beyond the diseases currently considered as NTDs by WHO.<br /><br />Since India is the world’s second most populous nation and accounts for about 18% of the world’s population, it is expected to harbour a significant NTD burden. However, the fact these diseases are also associated with economic backwardness means that India can essentially have no excuse for topping the list. <br /><br />The tropical country, in spite of being the seventh largest GDP in the world spends as little as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-spends-just-1-2-of-its-gdp-on-healthcare-but-a-policy-can-change-that/articleshow/64665303.cms">1.2% of its GDP</a> on healthcare. The result of this neglection is that more than 50% cases of dengue, leprosy and trachoma occur in India. While the cases trichuriasis and cystic echinococcosis in India account for about 16% and 12% of the cases across the world respectively, other NTDs - ascariasis, hookworm disease, lymphatic filariasis, cysticercosis, visceral leishmaniasis and rabies - are about 18% to 45%. <br /><br />Moreover, the cases of NTDs in India are <a href="http://outbreaknewstoday.com/india-ranks-1-globally-11-neglected-tropical-diseases-55417/">not evenly distributed</a>, but instead are focused in sections of poverty in both, urban and rural areas. If left unchecked the diseases are expected reduce India’s economy by impairing worker productivity and intellectual growth in children. The global community’s focus on India’s NTD problem could dramatically advance the global health agenda.<br /><br /><div type="image" title="11 diseases" tempid="375455" msid="64781285" hostid="261"></div>

<br /><br />Internally, India has made a significant progress over the recent years towards NTD control and elimination. India is achieving a mass treatment coverage for almost <a href="http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/preventive_chemotherapy/lf/en/">400</a> million people who are at risk of lymphatic filariasis. It has also has been committed to a multidrug therapy for leprosy for years now, however, it needs to continue or expand in order to reach 100% of the population. The optimal potential of safe and clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for battling NTDs also needs to be realised. <br /><br />India, furthermore, hosts a sophisticated and extensive network of biotechnology organisations and private companies capable of developing vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics needed to battle the diseases. However, that hasn't been done yet due to the fact that new NTD technologies are not considered profitable.<br /><br />On 14 December 2017, a <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/neglected-but-treatable/article22717612.ece">collective </a>of partners working together to defeat 10 neglected tropical diseases, released its fifth report that indicated the potential of an NTD-control programme which is community-based. The report also focused on reaching marginalised populations through well-trusted health workers and free medication to the population. <br /><br />As per WHO‘s 2020 roadmap to eliminate at least 10 of the NTDs, India is committed to provide the necessary resources to remove the primary risk factors for NTDs which includes poverty. WHO realises that India’s contribution is necessary for its future targets. As <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/tropicsday/">International Tropic’s Day</a> gets celebrated globally today (28 June), India could use the opportunity to bring greater focus on the solutions of these health issues. <br />

India has most cases of these 11 neglected tropical diseases in the world: Study

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12616996" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="omicron" source="Orion">Omicron</keyword> was named a "variant of concern" in part because of its peculiar set of mutations.</li><li>It is not yet clear whether this variant spreads faster or causes more severe infections.</li></ul><p>It's not yet clear whether the Omicron <keyword id="11893194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus" source="Orion">coronavirus</keyword> variant is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/4-questions-scientists-have-about-omicron-new-coronavirus-variant-2021-11">more transmissible, deadlier, or can evade</a> existing vaccines.</p><p>But the constellation of mutations it carries is concerning, partly because many of them are completely new to <keyword id="11896083" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="science" source="Orion">science</keyword>, experts told Insider.</p><p>Here are all the mutations of the <keyword id="12616995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="omicron-variant" source="Orion">Omicron variant</keyword>, and why they're scaring scientists.</p><h2>Mutations in potentially dangerous places</h2><p>The Omicron variant has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/omicron-b11529-coronavirus-variant-of-concern-who-2021-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">more than 30 mutations on the spike protein</a>.</p><p>The spike protein acts as a grappling hook to bind the coronavirus to cells in the human body and is the main target for the COVID-19 vaccine.</p><p>What's concerning about Omicron is that the changes to the protein are clustering in areas that could help the coronavirus evade antibodies or become more infectious.</p><p>This can be seen in the graphic below of the Omicron spike protein, where changes to the protein are shown as colored dots. Mutations are in blue, while insertions or deletions are in red. </p><p>The changes tend to cluster in three areas of the protein, circled below. Two of them are antibody-binding sites, where antibodies from vaccines or natural immunity block the virus.</p><ul><li>The receptor-binding domain (RBD), the part of the spike protein that binds the cell.</li><li>The furin cleavage site (FCS), a region that undergoes a chemical reaction <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-021-00908-w">before the virus can infect the cells.</a></li><li>The N-terminal domain (NTD), another part of the protein.</li></ul><div type="image" title="A schematic shows mutations on the spike protein of the Omicron variant, and arrows indicate where these mutations could be clustering to have a potential biological effect." height="1071" width="1428" msid="88036591" hostid="261"></div><p>"There are two regions that are known to bind neutralizing antibodies ... the NTD and the RBD domain," Dr. Ulrich Elling, group leader at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Austria, told Insider.</p><p>"Worryingly, the mutations of Omicron cluster exactly in these two domains."</p><p>Some of the mutations could also increase the virus' ability to infect human cells.</p><p>Mutations to the FCS have been shown to potentially increase the transmissibility of the virus, <a href="https://covariants.org/variants/21K.Omicron">per CoVariants.org,</a> a website that tracks coronavirus variants and mutations.</p><p>Mutations in the RBD can also make the virus more "sticky," making it more likely to infect — which is what happened with the Delta variant, as Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Insider.</p><h2>Many mutations are completely new to science</h2><p>The Omicron also carries many mutations that haven't been seen before. </p><p>This color-coded list, as shared <a href="https://twitter.com/jcbarret/status/1463975708770897923?s=20">by Jeffrey Barrett</a>, a geneticist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, sheds some light on the types of mutations scientists are looking at.</p><p>Each row is a different mutation. Here's what the colors mean, <a href="https://twitter.com/jcbarret/status/1463975708770897923">according to Barrett</a>:</p><ul><li><strong><strong style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000;">Red</strong>:</strong> These nine mutations are already shared with other variants of concern, meaning Omicron could have the same worrying characteristics as those other variants. (Delta, for instance, is believed to be able to escape immune responses from vaccination or prior infections.)</li><li><strong><strong style="color: #ff9900; background-color: #ffffff;">Yellow</strong>:</strong> These three mutations haven't been seen in other variants of concern, and could make the virus fitter, meaning more transmissible or better at escaping immunity. (For instance, a mutation around the 484 amino acid on the protein — "E484A" — could enhance the ability of the virus to infect the cells, Elling said.)</li><li><strong><strong style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #339966;">Green</strong>:</strong> Another mutation that has been shared by many variants since early 2020.</li><li><strong><strong style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #993366;">Purple</strong>:</strong> These are completely new mutations for a variant of concern, but lab data suggests they could increase the virus' ability to escape immunity or infect a person.</li><li><strong><strong style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff;">Blue</strong>:</strong> These are 11 mutations that have been seen "rarely or never before," Barrett said. Scientists don't know what the mutations could do.</li></ul><h2>One scientist is hopeful that existing vaccines work</h2><p>Hibberd said it's too early to know the effect of the new mutations because of the way the Omicron likely arose.</p><p>Viruses evolve as they move through the population. Immune reactions put fierce selection pressure on the virus, so any mutation that is left probably makes the virus fitter.</p><p>But that's likely not what happened with the Omicron variant, Hibberd said.</p><p>"It's not a direct descendant of Delta or Alpha," he said. Instead, it is similar to the Beta variant, which is "quite a long way back in the evolutionary route," he said.</p><p>What likely happened was that an immunocompromised person caught a Beta-like variant, carried it for a long time, and the coronavirus evolved inside them, Hibberd said. Because their immune system would have been weaker, it would have put less selection pressure on the virus.</p><p>This wouldn't be unprecedented: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-hiv-had-coronavirus-216-days-virus-mutated-2021-6?r=US&amp;IR=T">A case study</a> previously showed an immunocompromised woman carried the coronavirus for at least 216 days in a row, accumulating over 30 mutations.</p><p>While it's too early to tell if existing vaccines can work against Omicron, Hibberd said he's confident they will.</p><p>"What was reassuring for me is that [Omicron] actually had quite a few of the mutations that we have seen before. And that makes me think that the vaccines will work against it."</p>

Here are all the mutations in the Omicron variant and why they are scaring scientists

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Fans of Freeform's canceled series, "Shadowhunters," have created a huge campaign to bring the show back, including two billboards in Times Square.</strong></li><li><strong>A producer on the show says that the fans efforts haven't gone unnoticed, and that he's having discussions about how to move forward with the show.</strong></li><li><strong>Freeform canceled the show in June, but it will return with two final episodes in 2019.&#xa0;</strong></li></ul><p>"Shadowhunters," a supernatural teen drama inspired by Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" book series, has thousands of fans begging for its return.</p><p>Freeform announced the show's cancellation in June. It said that after two final episodes to end season three air in early 2019, the series will come to a close. The series premiered in 2016, and was one of the network's biggest shows. Unfortunately, ratings continued to drop.&#xa0;</p><p>But fans of "Shadowhunters" aren't satisfied with the show ending so soon. They demand a fourth season, and have sought attention from streaming services including Amazon and Netflix in order to get it.&#xa0;</p><p>Since June, fans of the show started relentlessly tweeting with the hashtag&#xa0;<span>#SaveShadowhunters. Since June, the hashtag has been used in over 10 million tweets, and the high rate hasn't slowed down.&#xa0;The fans had a plane with #SaveShadowhunters banner circle Netflix's LA headquarters and rented out two billboards in Times Square. Fans also made a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/anyone-who-this-show-has-saved-save-shadowhunters">Change.org petition </a>to save the show that has over&#xa0;143,000 signatures.&#xa0;</span></p><p><strong>#SaveShadowhunters billboards in New York City's Times Square:</strong></p><p>&#xa0;</p><p><span>Apparently, these efforts are quite effective. "Shadowhunters" producer Martin Moszkowicz told <a href="https://deadline.com/2018/07/shadowhunters-pick-up-discussions-global-saveshadowhunters-campaign-martin-moszkowicz-constantin-1202424529/">Deadline</a> that he's had discussions about "how we can continue to bring Cassandra Clare's vision to television." Moszkowicz also told Deadline that Constantin Film, which produces "Shadowhunters," had noticed the campaign. "We are in ongoing discussions with the network and Netflix to how we can continue to bring Cassandra Clare's vision to television,"&#xa0;Moszkowicz said.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>A spokesperson from Netflix told Deadline that it did not have any negotiations in place to pick up the series for a fourth season.&#xa0;</span></p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-world-cup-ball-changes-different-2018-6">Why the World Cup soccer ball looks so different</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

'Shadowhunters' fans are begging Netflix to save the TV show, and have even rented billboards and airplanes

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">REUTERS/Hanson's Auctioneers</p></div></div>Here's some additional information about the answers to our <keyword id="6408534" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Quiz">quiz</keyword>: How Much Did A Rich Person Spend On This?</p>
<p>1. <span class="Lbl">The death mask of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was <keyword id="1639" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Auction">auction</keyword>ed off at Bonhams auction house in London on June 19, 2013. The mask was made shortly after Napoleon's death on the island of St Helena</span>, and ultimately <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2344801/Cast-Napoleon-Bonapartes-death-mask-death-St-Helena-1821-sells-170-000.html">sold for £169,250</a>, or about $259,600.</p>
<p>2. <span class="Lbl">A former servant kept this scrap of toast from the breakfast table of Prince Charles on his wedding day to the late Princess Diana as a memento of the Royal Wedding. It <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/old-toast-prince-charles-dianas-wedding-day-sells-123524303--abc-news-celebrities.html">sold for £230</a> ($354 at current conversion rates) at <span class="Lbl">its auction in Etwall, Derbyshire July 19, 2012</span>.</span></p>
<p><span class="Lbl">3. <span class="Lbl">This rare pre-17th century, sub-fossilized Elephant Bird egg was auctioned off in London on April 24, 2013. The extinct Elephant Bird, a native of Madagascar, was a large bird measuring around 11 feet in height. </span>The egg <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/04/24/egg-laid-by-extinct-elephant-bird-gets-101g-at-british-auction/">sold for <span class="Lbl">£</span>66,675</a> —  about $102,570 — at the British auction.</span></p>
<p><span class="Lbl">4. This crystal pet urn was showcased at the<span class="Lbl"> Taipei Pet Show at Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei on July 27, 2013. It's a part of a "pet funeral set," which includes the urn, a casket shaped like a book, and a spot in grave garden for 25 years. The whole set was <a href="https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;ALID=2C0BF1W450SP&amp;PBC=2CKRYD1D85D:2C04082VM4GXA:2C0BF1W450SP">priced at NTD120,000 ($4,000)</a>, the pet funeral service company told REUTERS.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Lbl"><span class="Lbl"></span>5. This 489-pound tuna was caught off Oma, Aomori in North Japan. <span class="Lbl">Kiyomura Co's President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants, won the bid for the tuna with a <a href="http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=2fd48f77-91f9-4f70-b145-88e296378eb5">record 155.40 million yen</a> (rough $ 1.76 million) at the fish market's first tuna auction in January 2013.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Lbl"><span class="Lbl"></span>6. In<span class="Lbl"> October 2012, Christie's auctioned off Daniel Craig's swim trunks that he wore as James Bond in "Casino Royale." The swimsuit was a part of the "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/james-bond-auction-at-christies-2012-10">50 Years of James Bond</a>" auction, and Christie's thought it would go for <span class="Lbl"><span class="Lbl">$4,600-$7,500</span></span>. Someone ultimately <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19857385">bought it for a staggering $72,000</a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Lbl">7. <span class="Lbl">The original Batmobile was sold during the Barrett-Jackson collectors car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona January 19, 2013 <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-original-batmobile-under-construction-pictures,0,7300121.photogallery">for $4.62 million</a>. <span class="st">It was the iconic car used in the 1960s television show.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="Lbl"><span class="Lbl"><span class="st"></span></span>8. <span class="Lbl">This 1981 Patek Philippe wristwatch is truly unique. It's made of white gold, and has a perpetual calendar with moon phases and leap-year. It sold on May 13, 2013 at a Geneva Christie's auction <a href="http://www.christies.com/presscenter/pdf/2013/Sale_1395_Important_Watches_Post_Sale.pdf">for $1,701,690</a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="Lbl"><span class="Lbl"></span>9. <span class="Lbl">Sarah Jessica Parker donated shoes from her "Sex and the City" character Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe. Three pairs were sold at the Gotta Have it! auction house in New York on April 24, 2013 to benefit New York City's LaGuardia Arts High School. The pair shown here <a href="http://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/Catalog.aspx?category=305">sold for $1,412</a>.</span><br /></span></p>

ANSWERS: How Much Did A Wealthy Person Spend On This?

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Adnan Syed - the convicted murderer&#xa0;and subject of the wildly popular true-crime podcast "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-theories-about-the-serial-podcast-2014-11">Serial</a>"&#xa0;- is returning to court Wednesday&#xa0;for a post-conviction hearing that could lead to a new trial, reports <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/serial-star-adnan-syed-court-hearing-could-lead-retrial-n510021">NBC</a>.&#xa0;<p>Syed is serving a life sentence in prison for the 1999 murder&#xa0;of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee, his former girlfriend and high school classmate, reports <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/03/465406957/adnan-syed-of-serial-fame-appears-in-court-to-seek-new-trial">NPR</a>.&#xa0;&#xa0;</p><p>The motion for a new trial centers on two pieces of evidence that could change the fate of Syed, who was convicted at the age of 19 and is now 35.</p><p>First, he has a potential new alibi from a witness named&#xa0;<span>Asia McClain, who said in an affidavit that she was in the library with Syed at the time of the murder.</span></p><p><span>Second, his lawyers want cell tower data used to place him in the&#xa0;</span>general location of Lee's murder reexamined because they believe it is inaccurate and misleading, according to the&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-central-figure-in-serial-podcast-to-argue-for-new-trial-2016-2">Associated Press</a>.&#xa0;</p><p>Syed's defense attorney, C. Justin Brown, is hopeful about the new evidence they plan to submit.</p><p>"<span>We're confident that after we have entered all the evidence that the judge is going to carefully consider it and it's going to win Adnan Syed a new trial," Brown told <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/03/465406957/adnan-syed-of-serial-fame-appears-in-court-to-seek-new-trial">NPR</a>.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Murder trials - and possible wrongful convictions - have captured the public's imagination in recent weeks. Like "Serial,"&#xa0;Netflix's documentary series "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/investigation-discoverys-steven-avery-special-blood-vial-2016-1">Making a Murderer</a>" has fueled speculation about its subject. That subject is&#xa0;</span><span>Steven Avery, who was convicted of murdering Teresa Halbach in 2007 after he already served 18 years in prison for a rape he was later proven not to have committed. &#xa0;</span></p><p>Syed's&#xa0;hearing will take place from Wednesday through Friday in the Baltimore City Circuit Court. Here's&#xa0;how the trial is unfolding.:</p><p><div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;</p><p>&#xa0;</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/strangs-problem-with-justice-system-2016-1">The lawyer from 'Making A Murderer' describes what's wrong with America's criminal justice system</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xmOG40MDE6JkSDjXMYbzeaJnM_bJm1Pw" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Convicted murderer at center of wildly popular 'Serial' could get a new chance at freedom

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Almost every summer, I travel to Taiwan in order to enroll my children in local summer camps.</li><li> I can send my four kids to a full week's camp — including lunch — for cheaper than the US. </li></ul><p><span>Every year, it seems like the </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-parents-try-to-get-their-kids-into-summer-camps-2023-1"><span>rush to sign my kids up for summer camp</span></a><span> begins earlier and earlier. For some of the more competitive programs, enrollment can begin as early as January or even November/December of the previous year. </span></p><p><span>As a </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/single-mother-five-children-gave-up-bedroom-daughter-privacy-tiktok-2024-1"><span>mother of five</span></a><span>, that's too much for my addled brain — let alone my wallet. Unless it's concert tickets to K-pop band BTS, I try never to compete for anything — mostly because it spikes my blood pressure, and I hate the anxiety it induces.</span></p><p><span>Instead, I send my kids to </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/living-as-a-millionaire-in-taipei-taiwan-homes-lifestyle-photos-2019-5"><span>summer camp in Taipei</span></a><span> because not only will my children have fun and learn, but they'll be doing so in Chinese. </span></p><h2 id="daa15263-b2c1-4244-ac95-945f9b12167e"><span>Immersing my children in family, language, and culture</span></h2><p><span>One of the primary reasons I enroll my children in local camps is so that they </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kids-fluent-spanish-english-how-to-do-it-2024-6"><span>are forced to speak and listen</span></a><span> to native Chinese speakers. Though my children have Chinese tutors and can speak, read, and write the language, I know that is an artificial environment. Being able to speak and respond in a classroom environment is very different than doing so in "real" life.</span></p><div type="image" title="Child at summer camp in Taipei" height="1536" width="2048" msid="111084104" hostid="261" sizebytes="458882"></div><p><span>I choose to throw </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/differences-between-us-and-china-in-parenting-2021-10"><span>my kids in a Chinese only environment</span></a><span> so that they have to communicate in Chinese out of necessity. Truthfully, many Taiwanese people will try to speak English to my kids even though my kids understand Chinese just fine.</span></p><p><span>Plus, not only do my kids get to see our relatives, but they also experience a whole new way of living for four to eight weeks. They try new foods, live a car-free existence and navigate the bus, subway, and train systems — sometimes unaccompanied — and </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-wanted-toddler-to-do-chores-like-netflix-old-enough-2022-6"><span>have far more personal freedom</span></a><span> than I would allow them in the US due to safety. They also venture out on their own to buy food from local restaurants and convenience stores.</span></p><h2 id="65dbef90-a501-4bf7-be3a-4ba94e31fdb4"><span>Summer camps in Taiwan are so much more affordable</span></h2><p><span>Every year, it seems as if the cost of summer camps in the US increases — and while I do want people to be paid a fair wage, it can also be true that with four children, paying for camps becomes cost-prohibitive. However, thanks to the exchange rate of about $1 USD to $32 NTD and the lower cost of living in Taiwan (on average, it is </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Taiwan"><span>35.6% lower</span></a><span> than in the US), I can sign up my children for a fraction of the cost.</span></p><div type="image" title="Kids drawing at a mall" height="2268" width="3024" msid="111084110" hostid="261" sizebytes="341118"></div><p><span>For example, through our town's parks and recreation department, a half-day camp for five days costs around $300 a week. If I enrolled them elsewhere for a week-long full-day camp, the price range is around $725 to $1,200 (and doesn't include lunch). For a weeklong sleep-away camp for five days and four nights, the cost is about $2,000 to $3,000.</span></p><p><span>However, even in Taiwan's capital and most expensive city of Taipei, I can enroll my kids in all the fun camps I would not consider in the US due to cost. A one-week, full-day camp, including lunch, is about $207 per child. If I wanted to be fancy and send them to a Model UN-like camp for the same amount of time, it would be $529 per child. For an 8-day, 7-night sleep-away camp for teenagers, the cost for the entire camp would be $711.</span></p><h2 id="59c098e3-739c-448e-a19d-d0f3ea01949e"><span>Not only summer camps but vacations, too</span></h2><p><span>Yes, the cost of traveling to Taiwan is expensive (the average round-trip flight will be $1,200 to $1,500 during peak season), and of course, I do have to pay for additional housing, but food expenses will be lower, and we don't have to pay for utilities. But I also try to maximize the time spent in Taiwan, so the trip doubles as a vacation, too. In the end, I will choose to gift my children an international summer of family and fun over costly US camps any day of the week.</span></p>

My kids go to summer camp in Taipei. They get to learn Chinese and it's cheaper than in the US.

<p><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em;"><table class="image-container float_right" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/photo/2013/01/15/2008082422">Taipei Times</a></p><p class="caption">New Chinese map reportedly includes disputed islands in red</p></td></tr></table>The back-and-forth between China, Japan, and the U.S. over <keyword id="901623" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disputed-islands">disputed islands</keyword> in the <keyword id="418054" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="East-China-Sea">East China Sea</keyword> this week continued ratcheting up, exposing policies that could prevent any diplomatic solution.</span></p>
<p><strong>China's new map:</strong></p>
<p>Less than a week after Thanksgiving in the U.S. last year, China released its new "<a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7dc376c6-3306-11e2-aabc-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2IQA4h0P0">nine dash map</a>" passport that made clear its South and East China Sea ambitions. Brushing off controversy at the time, China outraged many neighboring nations, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines whose territory the map annexed. Both countries refused to stamp the document, <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/philippines-vietnam-refuse-to-stamps-new-chinese-passport/1554884.html">using a separate sheet of paper</a> slipped into the book instead.</p>
<p>Now, China’s National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation is reportedly releasing its official state map of 2013 to include 130 disputed islands in the area. Not due to be released until the end of January, the new maps are supposed to <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-01/11/c_132097207.htm">increase the Chinese people's awareness of national territory</a>. Essentially reinforcing the nationalistic zeal against Japan <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444450004578001760904647792.html">already running through mainland China</a>.</p>
<p><strong><div class="image-container float_left click-to-enlarge" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><a title_source="AP" title_caption="China's passport map (click to expand)" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50fa9aa569bedd2034000024-960/ap698624082433.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source">AP</p><p class="caption">China's passport map (click to expand)</p></div>Prepare for war:</strong></p>
<p>China's General Staff Headquarters, which oversees the People's Liberation Army of around 2.5 million active and reserve troops, issued training directives this week to prepare for war.</p>
<p>From <a href="http://ntdtv.org/en/news/china/2013-01-18/china-s-call-to-war-with-japan.html">NTD TV</a>:</p>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">Forces should train to “fight and win battles,” the directive said. <span style="font-size: 13px;">The strong words are in striking contrast to previous ones. Those had focused more on coordination within different branches of the PLA. In particular, the use of the word “dazheng,” Chinese for “fighting wars,” has not been seen before.</span></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;"> </div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">Japan was not mentioned in the directive. But this commentary in the People’s Liberation Army Daily conjures up images of the Japanese invasion of China during World War II. It goes on to suggest Japan is gathering other East Asian countries to quote, “contain China.”</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;"> </div>
<div>Not itself a red flag, but <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/17/us-china-hawks-idUSBRE90G00C20130117">Reuters reports</a> an "<span>increasingly hawkish rhetoric coming from senior officers in the People's Liberation Army."</span></div>
<div><span><br /></span></div>
<div>From <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/17/us-china-hawks-idUSBRE90G00C20130117">Reuters</a>: </div>
<div>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">But the combative streak speaks to profound shifts in Chinese politics and foreign policy that transcend the heat of the moment. The more provocative of these officers call for "short, sharp wars" to assert China's sovereignty. Others urge Beijing to "strike first", "prepare for conflict" or "kill a chicken to scare the monkeys".</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">They routinely denounce the <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/video/reuters-tv?videoId=237536565&amp;videoChannel=118066&amp;lc=int_mb_1001" class="mandelbrot_refrag">Obama</a></span> administration's recent "pivot" to Asia - without naming the United States, Ren in his Melbourne speech accused "external countries" of complicating disputes in Asia.</p>
<p><strong>The U.S. picked sides:</strong></p>
<p>Just one day after the U.S. and Japan got to work Thursday revising their <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> treaty guidelines for the first time in15 years, Hillary Clinton issued China a "<a href="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-01-19/clinton-backs-japan-over-island-row/1075698">veiled warning</a>."</p>
<p>In a meeting Friday with Japan's foreign minister, Clinton spelled out the U.S. belief that the disputed islands belonged to Japan, were under their control, and therefore under the U.S. security treaty with Tokyo.</p>
<p><a href="http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-stance-on-disputed-islands-breaks-vow-of-neutrality-china/article7554615/?service=mobile">Chinese media is reporting</a> Clinton's remarks effectively break the U.S. vow of neutrality in the region.</p>
<p><strong>China shows what they think of the U.S. position:<div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><a title_source="Wikimedia Commons" title_caption="China Marine Surveillance ship (click to expand)" class="zoomin" href="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50fa9b4aeab8eabf19000003-960/haijian_83.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source">Wikimedia Commons</p><p class="caption">China Marine Surveillance ship (click to expand)</p></div></strong></p>
<p>Within hours of Clinton's remarks Chinese ships entered Japan's territorial waters around the islands. Three <a href="http://www.sinodefence.com/navy/marine-surveillance/default.asp">Chinese Marine Surveillance</a> ships cruised the waters around the islands for <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/01/19/13/china-ships-waters-around-disputed-islands-japan">five hours before traveling away</a> from the East China Sea.</p>
<p>Backing up Clinton's words, and as a counterpoint to China's response, the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-17/u-s-official-calls-for-cooler-heads-in-japan-china-island-spat.html">Japanese foreign minister said plainly</a>: "Japan will not concede," and will, <span>“uphold our fundamental position that the Senkakus are an inherent territory of Japan.”</span></p>
<p>Which all bodes poorly for peace and found <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21569740-risks-clash-between-china-and-japan-are-risingand-consequences-could-be?fsrc=scn/tw_ec/dangerous_shoals">the Economist Saturday</a> saying the two countries look to be on an irreversible path. "China and Japan are sliding towards war" the magazine says in its most recent piece on the situation.</p>
<p><strong>China paper calls for foreign <keyword id="6359526" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Military">military</keyword> bases:</strong></p>
<p>As part of its current <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/06/military-spending">$200 billion defense budget</a> The <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/eo20120103a1.html">Japan Times</a> says China's foreign bases are for more than supplying and protecting trade routes. This in addition to news from a Chinese state-run newspaper advising the PLA Navy to build <a href="http://www.china-defense-mashup.com/chinese-paper-advises-pla-navy-to-build-overseas-military-bases.html">18 overseas naval bases</a>. It's an unofficial declaration and the locations are best estimates, but it's an interesting addition when considering the charged climate of the region.</p>
<p>The nationalism building in both China and Japan allows little room for any leader to be seen "selling out" their country by negotiating and w<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em;">ithout negotiations the next step may be more conflict rather than less.</span></p>
<p>Estimates of where China's new naval bases would go.</p>
<p><div class="image-container click-to-enlarge" style="width:625px"><div class="image"><a title_source="China Defence Mashup" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50fa9c36eab8ea2d1c00001c-960/military-base.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.china-defense-mashup.com/chinese-paper-advises-pla-navy-to-build-overseas-military-bases.html">China Defence Mashup</a></p></div></p>
</div>

5 New Reasons China And Japan May Go To War Over Disputed Islands

<p></p>
<p>In contrast to previous Chinese leaders, Xi has been adamant that no one is untouchable. Big targets like former security czar Zhou Yongkang and former military chief Xu Caihou, once thought untouchable by even top officials, were some of the first to fall in Xi's crusade.</p>
<p>While Xi and the Party are notoriously tight-lipped about the inner workings of the Communist Party, they have been remarkably open about the illicit goods, cash, and properties found in the hands of the corrupt officials they've taken down.</p>
<p>Of course,<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Xi may have a hidden motive for being so transparent - to convince the public he's winning the battle against corruption. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">W</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">hatever the reason, he's given Western observers an unprecedented view into the level of corruption of Chinese officials</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></p>
<p>Here are a few of the more outrageous examples:</p>
<h3>Zhou Yongkang</h3>
<p>Zhou Yongkang once belonged to the all-powerful Politiburo Standing Committee and served as national police chief when he came under investigation in July 2014. His arrest in December could be a move to add legitimacy to Xi's corruption campaign. It was previously taboo to investigate current or former members of the Politiburo.</p>
<p>NTD Television <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1162487-hong-kong-magazine-reveals-crimes-and-wealth-of-chinas-former-security-czar/">reported Zhou's ill-gotten</a> gains, which include assets totaling $16.05 billion.</p>
<p>Here's a taste of Zhou's confiscated spoils:</p>
<ul>
<li><span>Cash stashed in Zhou's residences totaling $300.3 million dollars in US dollars, Euros, Yuan, British Poundnds, and Swiss Francs.</span></li>
<li><span>62 cars including military Jeeps and a tourist bus</span></li>
<li><span>55 paintings by famous painters with a market value between $128 million to $161 million</span></li>
<li><span>Hundreds of foreign and domestic bank accounts belonging to Zhou and relatives totaling $6.06 billion.</span></li>
<li><span>Petroleum, aviation, wine, and financial securities with a total value of $8.24 billion</span></li>
<li><span>Foreign securities and bonds totaling $27.3 million</span></li>
<li><span>326 properties all over China totaling $1.76 billion in value</span></li>
<li><span>42,850 grams of gold, silver, and gold coins</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>General Xu Caihou</h3>
<p>General Xu, formerly the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, confessed to taking bribes in October after the party's seven-month investigation found he took huge bribes for promoting people in his command. He was expelled from the Communist Party and had his rank of general revoked. </p>
<p>When investigators came to Xu's 21,500 square-foot Beijing mansion, the extent of Xu's corruption became obvious. In the basement, investigators <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/22/china-reacts-to-massive-corruption-tally-of-a-fallen-general/">found more than one ton (in weight) of cash</a>, as well as countless jade, emeralds, calligraphy, and paintings, according to Foreign Policy. It reportedly took more than 10 military trucks to cart off the loot. </p>
<p>Here's how investigators <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4883f674-7171-11e4-818e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Jitzpsam">found the cash at the house</a>, according to The Financial Times:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The cash was neatly stacked in boxes, each with the name of the soldier who had paid the bribe in exchange for promotion up the chain of command. Many of the boxes, each containing millions of renminbi, had never been opened, said people familiar with the case.</p>
<h3>Liu Han</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Liu occupied the murky space in China between businessman and crime boss, heading up mining conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong Group while also leading a gang that committed murders, assaults, kidnappings, fraud, and contract rigging. </p>
<p>At the time Liu was detained, his accumulated assets <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_2.htm">totaled $6.4 billion, including hundreds of cars such as Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris,</a> 20 guns, 677 bullets, 2,163 shotgun cartridges, and more than 100 knives, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. Liu wore a diamond-encrusted Franck Muller watch and often ordered bottles of French wine that cost more than $12,000.</p>
<p>At his trial, his ex-wife, Yang Xue, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_3.htm">relayed this story of how Liu dealt with government officials</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Liu Han would take me to dine with them, and offer them gifts such as gold or jade items worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan … Sometimes he would deliberately lose when gambling, just to bribe them.</p>
<h3>Liu Zhijun</h3>
<p>Liu Zhijun joined the Communist Party as a low-level bureaucrat at the national ministry of railways in the 1970s, eventually rising to become the minister of the department. This past July, a Beijing court sentenced him to death for bribery and abuse of power.</p>
<p>Liu accepted bribes totaling $10.4 million from 1986 to 2011, a<span>ccording to Xinhua. In 2013</span>, investigators seized 142.1 million in cash, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/08/liu-zhijun-sentenced-death-corruption">undisclosed amounts of shares, 16 vehicles, 374 properties, and other valuables</a>, according to The Guardian. In addition, investigators found the minister had 18 mistresses, including multiple actresses from a popular television show, nurses, and train stewards.</p>
<h3>Gu Junshan</h3>
<p></p>
<p>When police raided Gu's mansion in 2013, they found the stupendous spoils from that racket, including four military trucks worth of luxury items, a cellar of expensive wine, a gold hand basin, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11281582/Chinese-general-gives-out-Mercedes-filled-with-gold.html">a pure gold statue of Chairman Mao</a>, according to The Telegraph.</p>
<p>Gu reportedly distributed the money from the racket to his underlings by filling Mercedes vehicles with $3.8 million in gold bars and handing the recipient the keys.</p>
<h3>Ni Fake</h3>
<p></p>
<p>Ni's obsession with jade was well-known, leading party investigators to warn him about his ostentatiousness nearly two years before the investigation. By most accounts, Ni did not listen. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He </span><a href="http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/a-corruption-case-laden-with-jade/?_r=0">always wore a jade necklace and carried a small flashlight and magnifying glass</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to examine new jade that might enter his collection, according to The New York Times. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The state-run China News website reported that, on the weekends, Ni would spread out his favorite jade pieces and look at each. Every other week, he waxed his jades and, on every work trip, he would visit the local jade market. His jade collection amounted to an estimated $1.6 million in pendants, ornaments, and carved stones. The rest of Ni's bribes came in the form of cash, paintings, or property. </span></p>
<h3>Wei Pengyuan</h3>
<p></p>
<p>It is estimated that the cash, which was likely in 100-yuan banknotes, would <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-corruption-33-million-yuan-cash-seized-home-coal-chief-1717047">weigh more than 2.2 tons and climb 656 feet in the air if it was stacked</a>. </p>
<h3>Ma Chaoqun</h3>
<p>Not every official nabbed with a ridiculous fortune was a "tiger." Many, like Ma Chaoqun, were flies. Ma was a midlevel water supply official in Beidaihe, a resort town near Beijing favored by top government officials.</p>
<p>Ma allegedly used his position to stack up a prodigious fortune: <a href="http://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/china-real-estate-research-policy/low-level-chinese-official-caught-with-rmb-120m-cash-37-kg-of-gold-and-68-houses/">$19.3 million in cash, 81 pounds of gold (worth about $1.4 million), and 68 properties totaling $163 million</a>. </p>

Here's The Ridiculous Loot That's Been Found With Corrupt Chinese Officials

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>China President Xi Jinping is two years into his unprecedented fight to eliminate the corruption that permeates the Communist Party in China. Since assuming office in early 2013, Xi has vowed to "<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/11/28/apec-blue-tigers-and-flies-what-chinese-phrase-best-describes-2014/">hunt tigers and swat flies</a>," meaning he'll target both high- and low-level officials.</p>
<p>In contrast to previous Chinese leaders, Xi has been adamant that no one is untouchable. Big targets like former security czar Zhou Yongkang and former military chief Xu Caihou, once thought untouchable by even top officials, were some of the first to fall in Xi's crusade.</p>
<p>While Xi and the Party are notoriously tight-lipped about the inner workings of the Communist Party, they have been remarkably open about the illicit goods, cash, and properties found in the hands of the corrupt officials they've taken down.</p>
<p>Of course,<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Xi may have a hidden motive for being so transparent - to convince the public he's winning the battle against corruption. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">W</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">hatever the reason, he's given Western observers an unprecedented view into the level of corruption of Chinese officials</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></p>
<p>Here are a few of the more outrageous examples:</p>
<h3>Zhou Yongkang<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>Zhou Yongkang once belonged to the all-powerful Politiburo Standing Committee and served as national police chief when he came under investigation in July 2014. His arrest in December could be a move to add legitimacy to Xi's corruption campaign. It was previously taboo to investigate current or former members of the Politiburo.</p>
<p>NTD Television <a href="http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1162487-hong-kong-magazine-reveals-crimes-and-wealth-of-chinas-former-security-czar/">reported Zhou's ill-gotten</a> gains, which include assets totaling $16.05 billion.</p>
<p>Here's a taste of Zhou's confiscated spoils:</p>
<ul>
<li><span>Cash stashed in Zhou's residences totaling $300.3 million dollars in US dollars, Euros, Yuan, British Poundnds, and Swiss Francs.</span></li>
<li><span>62 cars including military Jeeps and a tourist bus</span></li>
<li><span>55 paintings by famous painters with a market value between $128 million to $161 million</span></li>
<li><span>Hundreds of foreign and domestic bank accounts belonging to Zhou and relatives totaling $6.06 billion.</span></li>
<li><span>Petroleum, aviation, wine, and financial securities with a total value of $8.24 billion</span></li>
<li><span>Foreign securities and bonds totaling $27.3 million</span></li>
<li><span>326 properties all over China totaling $1.76 billion in value</span></li>
<li><span>42,850 grams of gold, silver, and gold coins</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>General Xu Caihou<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>General Xu, formerly the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, confessed to taking bribes in October after the party's seven-month investigation found he took huge bribes for promoting people in his command. He was expelled from the Communist Party and had his rank of general revoked. </p>
<p>When investigators came to Xu's 21,500 square-foot Beijing mansion, the extent of Xu's corruption became obvious. In the basement, investigators <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/22/china-reacts-to-massive-corruption-tally-of-a-fallen-general/">found more than one ton (in weight) of cash</a>, as well as countless jade, emeralds, calligraphy, and paintings, according to Foreign Policy. It reportedly took more than 10 military trucks to cart off the loot. </p>
<p>Here's how investigators <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4883f674-7171-11e4-818e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Jitzpsam">found the cash at the house</a>, according to The Financial Times:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The cash was neatly stacked in boxes, each with the name of the soldier who had paid the bribe in exchange for promotion up the chain of command. Many of the boxes, each containing millions of renminbi, had never been opened, said people familiar with the case.</p>
<h3>Liu Han</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Former mining tycoon Liu Han, who <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27533558">ranked 148th on Forbes' list of richest Chinese business people in 2012</a>, was sentenced to death last year for "<a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-05/23/c_1110826207.htm">organizing and leading mafia-style crime and murder</a>," according to Xinhua, China's official news agency.</p>
<p>Liu occupied the murky space in China between businessman and crime boss, heading up mining conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong Group while also leading a gang that committed murders, assaults, kidnappings, fraud, and contract rigging. </p>
<p>At the time Liu was detained, his accumulated assets <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_2.htm">totaled $6.4 billion, including hundreds of cars such as Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris,</a> 20 guns, 677 bullets, 2,163 shotgun cartridges, and more than 100 knives, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. Liu wore a diamond-encrusted Franck Muller watch and often ordered bottles of French wine that cost more than $12,000.</p>
<p>At his trial, his ex-wife, Yang Xue, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2014-02/20/c_133131218_3.htm">relayed this story of how Liu dealt with government officials</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Liu Han would take me to dine with them, and offer them gifts such as gold or jade items worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan … Sometimes he would deliberately lose when gambling, just to bribe them.</p>
<h3>Liu Zhijun</h3>
<p>Liu Zhijun joined the Communist Party as a low-level bureaucrat at the national ministry of railways in the 1970s, eventually rising to become the minister of the department. This past July, a Beijing court sentenced him to death for bribery and abuse of power.</p>
<p>Liu accepted bribes totaling $10.4 million from 1986 to 2011, a<span>ccording to Xinhua. In 2013</span>, investigators seized 142.1 million in cash, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/08/liu-zhijun-sentenced-death-corruption">undisclosed amounts of shares, 16 vehicles, 374 properties, and other valuables</a>, according to The Guardian. In addition, investigators found the minister had 18 mistresses, including multiple actresses from a popular television show, nurses, and train stewards.</p>
<h3>Gu Junshan</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Lieutenant General Gu Junshan was arrested in early 2012 after his suspected involvement in a massive scheme that involved the sale of military appointments. The supposed bribery scheme involved nearly $5 billion, roughly $100 million of which Gu allegedly kept for himself.</p>
<p>When police raided Gu's mansion in 2013, they found the stupendous spoils from that racket, including four military trucks worth of luxury items, a cellar of expensive wine, a gold hand basin, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11281582/Chinese-general-gives-out-Mercedes-filled-with-gold.html">a pure gold statue of Chairman Mao</a>, according to The Telegraph.</p>
<p>Gu reportedly distributed the money from the racket to his underlings by filling Mercedes vehicles with $3.8 million in gold bars and handing the recipient the keys.</p>
<h3>Ni Fake</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The former vice governor of Anhui province in central China, Ni Fake, is one of Xi's strangest targets. He's hardly the big name that Xu or Zhou are, but the Chinese media has given him a lot of attention because of the form his loot has taken. Almost 80% of the Ni's fortune was jade.</p>
<p>Ni's obsession with jade was well-known, leading party investigators to warn him about his ostentatiousness nearly two years before the investigation. By most accounts, Ni did not listen. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He </span><a href="http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/a-corruption-case-laden-with-jade/?_r=0">always wore a jade necklace and carried a small flashlight and magnifying glass</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to examine new jade that might enter his collection, according to The New York Times. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The state-run China News website reported that, on the weekends, Ni would spread out his favorite jade pieces and look at each. Every other week, he waxed his jades and, on every work trip, he would visit the local jade market. His jade collection amounted to an estimated $1.6 million in pendants, ornaments, and carved stones. The rest of Ni's bribes came in the form of cash, paintings, or property. </span></p>
<h3>Wei Pengyuan</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Wei Pengyuan, deputy chief of the coal bureau at the National Energy Administration, has been charged with taking $5.8 million in bribes from 2002 to 2012. When investigators searched his home, they found an astounding amount of cash: $33 million or 200 million yuan.</p>
<p>It is estimated that the cash, which was likely in 100-yuan banknotes, would <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-corruption-33-million-yuan-cash-seized-home-coal-chief-1717047">weigh more than 2.2 tons and climb 656 feet in the air if it was stacked</a>. </p>
<h3>Ma Chaoqun</h3>
<p>Not every official nabbed with a ridiculous fortune was a "tiger." Many, like Ma Chaoqun, were flies. Ma was a midlevel water supply official in Beidaihe, a resort town near Beijing favored by top government officials.</p>
<p>Ma allegedly used his position to stack up a prodigious fortune: <a href="http://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/china-real-estate-research-policy/low-level-chinese-official-caught-with-rmb-120m-cash-37-kg-of-gold-and-68-houses/">$19.3 million in cash, 81 pounds of gold (worth about $1.4 million), and 68 properties totaling $163 million</a>. </p>

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