"Opium-laced noddles" in China(Derek)

Have you ever imagine that there are opium poppy seeds in your delicious noodle? Let me share you a horrible news that I read in BBC News.

China: Restaurant 'sold opium-laced noodles'

News from Elsewhere.....media reports from around the world, found by BBC Monitoring

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A Chinese noodle shop owner has admitted to lacing his wares with opium poppy seeds, in an apparent effort to keep customers coming back, it's reported.

The use of the unusual ingredient - used to make opium - at the restaurant in Yan'an, in Shaanxi province, came to light after one of its clients tested positive in a routine urine test by traffic police, despite insisting he'd never touched drugs, the Xi'an Evening News reports. Suspecting the noodle shop he'd eaten at a few hours before the test might be to blame, the customer, Liu Juyou, persuaded relatives to frequent the shop as well and submit themselves to drugs tests. They also tested positive.

The shop owner - named only as Zhang - has since admitted to police that he bought 2kg (4.4lb) of poppy buds - which contain the plant's seeds - for $100 (£60) last month, crushed them into a powder and started to add that to his noodles, the Hua Shang Bao daily reports. Police said the unprocessed seeds contain enough opiates to gradually build up in the body and eventually trigger a positive drugs test result. According to the South China Morning Post, poppy seeds used to be a popular ingredient in Chinese hot pot sauce until their use was banned.

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 After reading this horrible news, I am going to comment on its bilingual features. 

1. Transliteration

We can see element of transliteration being used in the article. For example, it used the Pinyin of劉(Liu), 張(Zhang ). It may be strange for the native English speakers to see it, but I think it is suitable for the foreigners calling the places or names of Chinese people in forms of Pinyin as it is easier for the foreigners identifying the people or places in China.

2. Cultural Transfer 

Moreover, we can see some cultural transfer between the U.K. and China. It transfer the units of calculating money and weight in different countries. For instance, it transform 2kg to 4.4lb and $ 100 to £60, which makes the people in the U.K. can realize the information in the news more regardless the cultural difference. It is because the people in the U.K. may no know how much $100 worth or how 2kg weigh.

3. Re-contextualization

 On top of that, it used the element of re-contextualization in the news. The reporter excerpted the information from other foreign newspaper. It used the external link to give additional information to the readers. For example, it posted the external link of the Hua Shang Bao daily reports, the Xi'an Evening News reports and the South China Morning Post reports. Not only can it shape the reception of the audience, but also provide a platform for the readers realizing the views of Chinese media, which enables the readers comparing the points from different media with different cultural backgrounds.