SHANGHAI: Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking entered the universe of Chinese social media with a big bang on Tuesday, with his first post to the country’s Twitter-like Weibo service garnering him more than a million followers the same day.
In less than five hours Hawking flew past Apple chief Tim Cook, who has around 820,000 fans after a nearly a year online.
“In my physical travels, I have only been able to touch the surface of your fascinating history and culture,” the Cambridge scientist said in his initial post, writing in both English and Chinese so as to avoid any information loss in translation.
“But now I can communicate with you through social media — and I hope to tell you more about my life and work through this page and also to learn from you in reply,” he added. He also explained that he first visited China in 1985, traversing the country by train, and had last been in the capital in 2006 for a physics conference.
China holds scientific and intellectual achievement in high regard, and the hashtag #Hawking Opens a Weibo# was one of the top three topics.
Weibo users radiated welcome for Hawking’s arrival on the other side of the Great Firewall.
“This is a historical moment. I feel I’m connected with the universe,” wrote one commenter.
“My god — I’m communicating with Hawking, even if it’s just one-sided! This will be the conversation of the century,” exclaimed another.
But the most popular comment was a exhortation for users not to make China lose face in the presence of a man most lauded as a personal hero: “Please keep your comments classy, as every sentence will influence other people’s impressions of China.”
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As it hit the pitch, Catan leapt into action and started performing rudimentary CPR, pumping the bird’s ribcage.
“When I started the chest compressions, it began moving its legs. The more it moved, the more I kept going,” he said.
When it started breathing, he carried it off the pitch to medical staff, who took care of it.
By that evening, videos had gone viral on social media and Catan said his phone began ringing nonstop.
“We’d lost the match, so I wasn’t in a good mood. Then overnight the messages started coming in. We were shocked by how fast it spread,” he said.
“It’s been in the press in Brazil, Italy, America...”
Since the Istanbul match, Catan has received animal rights organization PETA’s “Hero to Animals award.”
Originally from the northern Turkish city of Tokat where he lives with his two cats, Catan had dreamed of playing football since childhood.
The story ended sadly, however, as the bird later died, according to a commentator who witnessed the incident.
Yurdum Spor is considering adding a seagull to its logo in tribute.
Hawking debuts with a big bang on China social media
Hawking debuts with a big bang on China social media
Turkish footballer hailed as hero after saving stunned seagull
- Gani Catan, captain of amateur club Yurdum Spor, raced across the pitch Sunday after a ball knocked the low-flying bird to the ground
- “I acted on instinct, or maybe I once saw someone do this on a dog or a cat,” he said
ISTANBUL: A Turkish amateur footballer has gone viral for saving a seagull’s life with CPR after it was struck down during an Istanbul match.
Gani Catan, a 32-year-old accountant and captain of amateur club Yurdum Spor, raced across the pitch Sunday after a ball knocked the low-flying bird to the ground.
“I acted on instinct, or maybe I once saw someone do this on a dog or a cat,” he told AFP a few days later as he watched the club’s youth teams train.
As it hit the pitch, Catan leapt into action and started performing rudimentary CPR, pumping the bird’s ribcage.
“When I started the chest compressions, it began moving its legs. The more it moved, the more I kept going,” he said.
When it started breathing, he carried it off the pitch to medical staff, who took care of it.
By that evening, videos had gone viral on social media and Catan said his phone began ringing nonstop.
“We’d lost the match, so I wasn’t in a good mood. Then overnight the messages started coming in. We were shocked by how fast it spread,” he said.
“It’s been in the press in Brazil, Italy, America...”
Since the Istanbul match, Catan has received animal rights organization PETA’s “Hero to Animals award.”
Originally from the northern Turkish city of Tokat where he lives with his two cats, Catan had dreamed of playing football since childhood.
The story ended sadly, however, as the bird later died, according to a commentator who witnessed the incident.
Yurdum Spor is considering adding a seagull to its logo in tribute.
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