8:01 AM | None of the airlines has clearly defined the "seat locking" rules and proportions; The "Send Gifts" feature is launched on WeChat; Trump said Musk cannot be the president.
Guangdong Tianyu Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
36Kr learned that according to the documents of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on December 23, Guangdong Tianyu Semiconductor Co., Ltd. submitted an application for listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CITIC Securities as the sole sponsor.
More and more airplane seats are being locked, and major airlines have not clarified the "seat locking" rules and proportions.
Recently, many passengers have reported that when checking in online and choosing seats, a large number of seats are "locked", and it is almost impossible to select more comfortable seats such as those in the front row, emergency exits, by the window, and by the aisle. The customer service staff of the airlines said that the number of seats "locked" for each airplane varies. If there are seats available for mileage redemption, passengers can try to redeem them with mileage. If there are mileage redemption seats for this flight but they are not fully selected, passengers can also handle it on-site at the airport.
According to the relevant regulations of several airlines, currently, domestic airlines have basically launched the value-added service of pre-selecting seats. Generally, for international flights, seats are purchased with a fee, while for domestic flights, they need to be redeemed through accumulated mileage. However, major airlines have not clarified the rules and proportions of "seat locking", and there are no detailed explanations for the rules and pricing standards when different passengers purchase seat selection services. (CCTV News)
WeChat's "Send Gift" feature goes live, and SF Intra-City Instant Delivery service is ready simultaneously
36Kr learned that recently, WeChat is conducting a gray-scale test of the "Send Gift" feature in WeChat Mini Store and has released relevant usage guidelines. For WeChat Mini Stores in other categories except for jewelry and education and training, products with an original price of less than 10,000 yuan will default to supporting this feature. It is understood that SF Intra-City is actively building an instant delivery scenario solution for WeChat gift sending to meet the urgent delivery needs of intra-city gifts. For scenarios with high timeliness requirements such as fresh aquatic products, high security requirements such as valuable gifts, and users' expectations of receiving gifts faster, SF Intra-City has built an instant delivery solution for merchants and orders where the sender's and recipient's addresses are in the same city.
Trump Says Musk Can't Be President: He Wasn't Born in the US
On December 23, it is reported that the elected President of the United States, Trump, has dismissed any claims that he has been "usurped" by his high-profile billionaire ally, Musk. Previously, Musk helped Trump prevent the passage of a temporary appropriations bill aimed at avoiding a government shutdown. Trump said that the claim that he "gave" the presidency to Musk is purely fictional. Even if Musk wanted the job, he couldn't get it because the Constitution stipulates that the President of the United States must be a native-born American citizen, and Musk was born in South Africa. (Jiemian News)
Shanghai Metro Apologizes, Part of Damaged Section Resumes Operation
At around 8:00 on the 22nd, in the interval between Malu and Wuwei Road stations on Shanghai Metro Line 11, due to the collapse and intrusion of a crawler crane at an external construction site, the metro line equipment and a normally operating metro train were partially damaged. No casualties were caused. The Shanghai Metro said that after all-out emergency repairs, the damaged section of Line 11 resumed operation at around 21:30 on the same day, with the direction from Chenxiang Highway Station to Disneyland Station opening first.
In response, Shanghai Metro apologized: "Passengers affected by the failure of Line 11 can obtain an apology letter through the operation page on the official website of Shanghai Metro. We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused to your travel!" (China Newsweek, Yangtze Evening News)
Pangdonglai Responds: Half-Price for Unsatisfactory Cinema Experience: No Other Reasons Required
Recently, a netizen posted that in the Pangdonglai Cinema (Angel City Store) in Xuchang, Henan, they saw a notice board stating that if one is not satisfied with the movie, they can go to the ticket office to get a 50% refund within 20 minutes after the movie ends, and it is explained that the other 50% needs to be submitted to the cinema chain, so a full refund is not possible. After a journalist's phone consultation, the staff confirmed that such a policy does exist and has been in place for some time, and there are not many cases of customers requesting refunds.
In response to this, a senior media practitioner in the cinema industry said in an interview that this practice is not conducive to the development of Chinese cinema. He explained, "Whether an enterprise wants to feedback employees or feedback society, it itself needs to develop healthily. It can only be said that this is an exception, and businesses still have the right to choose their own business operations. (Elephant News)
Minors Rent Accounts to Bypass Anti-Addiction Measures and Play Freely as Game Trainers
Not long ago, Ms. Zhang in Jiangsu discovered that her 9-year-old child was addicted to mobile games. In less than a month, the child spent more than 2,000 yuan renting online game accounts. "Renting accounts" is a way for minors to bypass the "anti-addiction system", and the prices range from a few cents to tens of yuan.
In addition, some children have become game trainers. They can play without restrictions and earn money at the same time. Some game training companies have targeted these children, using "being a game trainer" as a bait to arrange minors as "low-cost substitutes" to earn more price differences. The reporter's investigation found that such situations are not uncommon in the game training group. (CCTV Focus Interview, CCTV News)
The Chairman of a Nearly Hundred-Billion-Market-Cap Leader Has Been Placed Under Investigation: Suspected of Transferring Stocks in Violation of Restrictive Regulations
On December 22, Xin Yisheng announced that Gao Guangrong, the company's controlling shareholder, actual controller, and chairman, received the "Notice of Case Filing" issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on December 20, 2024. He has been placed under investigation for acts such as "suspected of transferring stocks in violation of restrictive regulations". This matter is currently in the investigation stage, and the specific situation awaits the final confirmation of the relevant departments. Gao Guangrong has been placed under investigation for his personal stock transfer matters, which has nothing to do with the company's operations and will not have an impact on the company. The company's production and operation are all normal. The company will continue to pay attention to the progress of the above matters and strictly fulfill the information disclosure obligations in accordance with the provisions and requirements of relevant laws and regulations. (Daily Economic News)
The Enterprise That Prohibited Employees from Going to the Ice and Snow World Apologizes
On December 21, a notice issued by an enterprise in Heilongjiang, "Notice on Prohibiting Employees from Visiting the Ice and Snow World Before the Spring Festival," attracted attention on the Internet. On the 22nd, the reporter called the enterprise involved, and Mr. Zhou, the person in charge of the enterprise, confirmed that the content of the notice was true. Currently, no objections from employees have been noted. If an employee has purchased a ticket to the Ice and Snow World in advance, they can apply to the enterprise for reimbursement. Some lawyers said that the enterprise's behavior may violate the Labor Law.
On the 23rd, Mr. Zhou responded that the company apologized to all employees, respected the independent choice of employees, and did not make mandatory requirements. At the same time, the content that going to the Ice and Snow World before the year would disqualify employees from being selected as outstanding employees of the year and receiving year-end benefits was invalidated. "In fact, our original intention is to allow southern tourists to come to Harbin and have the best experience." Mr. Zhou also said that the tickets for the Ice and Snow World are indeed in short supply. As an enterprise in Heilongjiang, they also want to contribute to their hometown. Regarding the objections that everyone is concerned about, they have also made timely corrections. (Jiupai News, New Yellow River)
It is suspected that a Sam's Club purchasing agent is repackaging cakes in the restroom
For large-packaged products from supermarkets like Sam's Club and Costco, there are many purchasing agents who repackage these products in the market. However, these repackagings may pose many safety hazards. Recently, a netizen posted on social media, exposing that it is suspected that a Sam's Club purchasing agent is repackaging cakes in the restroom. In the exposed pictures, the cakes being repackaged are placed on the restroom floor, and utensils such as a cake knife and an iron plate can also be seen.
On December 23, the reporter interviewed Ms. Pan, the photographer of the pictures. She stated that the pictures were taken in Meilin Mall in Guangzhou on December 8. At that time, she was using the restroom, and she found that someone in the adjacent restroom stall had placed something on the ground. Out of curiosity, she took a closer look and unexpectedly discovered that someone was repackaging what seemed to be Sam's Club cakes on the floor of the squat toilet, and the person even had a professional cake knife. (Sina News)
One week after the full launch of the Personal Pension Scheme, the average daily number of new accounts and the amount of funds deposited by brokerages have increased significantly
Since December 15, the Personal Pension Scheme has been expanded from 36 pilot cities (regions) to the whole country. As an agency for selling the scheme, how is the business of brokerages going one week after the full rollout? As of December 22, after interviewing several brokerages, it was learned that currently, coinciding with the full implementation of the Personal Pension Scheme and the window period for making contributions at the end of 2024, the number of new personal pension accounts opened by brokerages and the amount of funds deposited have increased significantly compared with the pilot period, and the sales of pension funds have also increased significantly. (Securities Times)
The Cancellation of Shared Area Draws Attention, Experts Call for Enhancing Information Transparency
Recently, many places have announced the cancellation of the "shared area", which has attracted market attention. The reporter learned that the policies of canceling the "shared area" issued in various places are often related to house sales. For most homebuyers, the cancellation of the "shared area" of the house only changes the pricing method when purchasing a house, and the total price of the entire house remains unchanged. Experts said that from the perspective of industry development, through policy innovation and improving the refinement level of management, it is conducive to maintaining a fair competition, honest and creditworthy, standardized and orderly market environment, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of homebuyers, and promoting the high-quality development of the real estate industry. From the perspective of the owners' needs, it is more important to improve the rules for including the shared area, enhance information transparency, and let homebuyers spend their money clearly. (China Securities Journal)
"Cross Fire" Officially Becomes a Competition Event of the 2025 EWC Esports World Cup
36Kr has learned that on December 23, the first-person shooter product "Cross Fire", with its massive user base of over 1 billion in more than 80 countries and regions, and the extraordinary influence of the 2024 CFS in China, has officially become a member of the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) event lineup, further expanding the global influence and audience coverage of the Cross Fire esports events.
Fangshan Welcomes Yonghui's Second Store Learning from Pangdonglai
36Kr has learned that on December 27, Yonghui's second self-adjusted store in Beijing that learns from Pangdonglai is about to open, located in Beijing Fangshan InCity. It is understood that the number of products removed from the shelves at the Fangshan InCity store exceeds that of the first store, and 254 more products have been re-planned. This adjusted Yonghui store includes the supermarket section and the leased area section. The combined area of the two sections is twice that of the first adjusted store. In addition to the overall improvement of the supermarket section, the leased area supplements the supermarket with business forms such as catering, beauty, tourism, and laundry, comprehensively creating a convenient service circle within fifteen minutes.
"Damn" has been selected as the 2024 Youdao Dictionary Annual Word of NetEase
36Kr learned that on December 23, Youdao Dictionary of NetEase announced the 2024 annual word "damn", which means a modal word that contemporary young people use to express various strong emotions. Official data shows that the search volume of this word has shown an astonishing growth in 2024, with a year-on-year increase of 137,829%. The number of searches for related content is also as high as 66.45 million times, and it has become a new trend indicator for young people's emotional expression in 2024.
Perfect World: Selling Assets and Employees Related to the Games under Development by Chengfeng Studio
36Kr learned that Perfect World announced that the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Perfect Space-Time signed the "Asset Purchase Agreement" with Scopely on December 23, 2024. Scopely intends to purchase the assets related to the games under development by Chengfeng Studio under Perfect Space-Time, as well as documents, computers and other office equipment for 34.5 million US dollars. Most of the employees of this studio, including the main core team, will leave the company and set up a new company to develop new games. Scopely will invest in this company and hold a minority stake. Chengfeng Studio is entrusted to develop the game "Code Name PIE", and the relevant development expenses are reported in inventory as contract performance costs in accordance with accounting standards.
LG New Energy's China Headquarters Settles in Nanjing
36Kr learned that, according to the WeChat official account of Nanjing Release, on December 22, at the signing ceremony of major projects of the 2024 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference, LG New Energy officially announced that its China headquarters will be located in Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone. The headquarters will coordinate the accounting, taxation, legal, logistics, procurement and other businesses of LG New Energy's subsidiaries in China, manage the cross-border capital pool, concurrently carry out the research and development of new energy batteries and materials, and be responsible for the investment work in the upstream and downstream industrial chains. Currently, the company's intelligent battery production line project is being advanced in Nanjing Economic Development Zone.
Trump Expresses Support for TikTok to Continue Operating in the US
On December 22 local time, when the US President-elect Trump delivered a speech in Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, he stated that he supports TikTok to continue operating in the US for a period of time. This is one of the strongest signals from Trump so far against TikTok's withdrawal from the US market. Trump said that during his presidential campaign, the videos he posted on TikTok received billions of views.
According to relevant legal regulations, TikTok's parent company ByteDance must complete the divestiture of TikTok by January 19, 2025. Otherwise, this short-video application with approximately 170 million US users will face a comprehensive ban. (CCTV News)
Starbucks Workers Expand Strike in 10 US Cities
According to Reuters, on the evening of the 21st local time, the union representing more than 10,000 Starbucks baristas said that Starbucks employees have expanded the strike to US cities including New York. The report said that the union said in a statement that the five-day strike began on the 20th. It initially closed Starbucks cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle. The report mentioned that negotiations between the coffee chain and the union have reached a deadlock, and issues such as wages, staffing, and schedules remain unresolved, leading to the strike. It is reported that Starbucks has gone on strike in 10 US cities, which may affect the company's Christmas sales during the busy holiday season. The union warns that the scale of the strike may reach "hundreds of stores" on Christmas Eve, the 24th. (China News and Jwview)
Google Responds: Japanese Regulatory Agency Proposes Rectification on Suspected Monopoly Grounds
The Japan Fair Trade Commission intends to issue a rectification order to Google on the grounds of suspected violation of the Anti-Monopoly Law. The commission believes that Google is suspected of illegally requiring smartphone manufacturers to prioritize the pre-installation of the Google Search APP. It is understood that the Japan Fair Trade Commission has notified Google of the disciplinary plan and will officially make a disciplinary decision after listening to opinions. Google said in a statement: "We will continue to work closely with the Japanese government to demonstrate how we support the Android ecosystem in Japan and expand user choices." The company said it will present its arguments during the hearing process. Google also said it is disappointed that the Japan Fair Trade Commission has not fully considered the solutions proposed by the company. (Caixin)
Honda and Nissan Joint Statement: Aim to Achieve Annual Sales Exceeding 30 Trillion Yen After Merger
On December 23 local time, Honda and Nissan announced the initiation of operational merger discussions. The two sides will establish an integration preparation committee and start in-depth negotiations to ensure the smooth progress of business integration. According to the statement, Honda and Nissan seek to achieve the goal of an overall annual sales exceeding 30 trillion yen and an annual operating profit exceeding 3 trillion yen through the merger. (Jiemian News)
The reduction in bonuses for Volkswagen managers will lead to a 10% salary cut in the next two years.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung on Sunday, after Volkswagen in Germany reached an agreement with the union on layoffs and production cuts, the reduction in bonuses for the company's managers will lead to a 10% salary cut in the next two years. The newspaper said that this salary cut will apply to the bonus payment in May, resulting in a 10% salary reduction for 4,000 managers in 2025 and 2026. In the next three years, their salaries will decrease by 8%, 6%, and 5% respectively. (Sina Finance)
It is reported that Google has cut 10% of its top management positions in the past few years
It is reported that Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees at an all-hands meeting on December 18 that in order to improve efficiency, the company has reduced the number of its top management positions by 10% over the years. According to two employees who attended the meeting, Pichai said that Google has made some changes in the past few years, aiming to simplify the company and improve efficiency. Both of these employees requested anonymity because they were not authorized to be interviewed by the media. (Sina Finance)
Nvidia Is Reportedly Initially Finalized the Configuration of GB300 Orders
It is reported that Nvidia is expected to unveil the next-generation GB300 AI server product line at the GTC conference in March next year. Suppliers such as Hon Hai have recently entered the R & D and design stage of GB300. It is understood that Nvidia has initially determined the configuration of GB300 orders, and Hon Hai is still the largest supplier. It is expected that the actual machine will be launched in the first half of next year. Industry insiders revealed that Quanta and Inventec are also important partners of Nvidia's GB300. In terms of order share, Quanta is second only to Hon Hai and is the second largest supplier. (Jiemian News)
Xiaomi Automobile Officially Integrates into VLM Visual Language Model
36Kr has learned that Xiaomi Automobile announced that the Xiaomi SU7 1.4.5 OTA has begun to be pushed, with a total of 13 new functions and 26 experience optimizations. This update officially integrates into the VLM Visual Language Model. The system can recognize complex road environments and special traffic rule areas, and provide text and voice prompts. In addition, the charging map has been upgraded, and a charging and energy replenishment network cooperation has been reached with NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto.
The Latest Evaluation of Zhiyuan FlagEval: Tencent Hunyuan Tops the List in Text-to-Image Generation
36Kr has learned that recently, the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences has released the latest FlagEval large model evaluation ranking list. The results show that in the text-to-video model of the multimodal model evaluation list, Tencent Hunyuan's text-to-image generation ability ranks first. It is understood that FlagEval is a large model evaluation system and open platform launched by the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence to evaluate the performance of basic models and training algorithms. The evaluation scope covers more than 100 open-source and commercial closed-source models at home and abroad. Tencent Hunyuan's text-to-image generation ability is currently fully open to the public. Ordinary users can use it for free through Tencent AI Assistant and Tencent Yuanbao. Enterprise users and developers can call this ability through Tencent Cloud API.
"Chuangrui Spectrum" Secures Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Pre-A Round Financing
Recently, the innovative pan-semiconductor defect detection enterprise "Chuangrui Spectrum" announced the completion of nearly 100 million yuan in Pre-A round financing, led by Lightspeed China Partners, with the existing shareholder Legend Capital participating in the follow-on investment, and Index Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. After this round of financing, Chuangrui Spectrum will continue to increase its R&D investment, accelerate the market introduction of various industrial detection products such as SiC wafer defect detection and perovskite photovoltaic panel detection, and achieve the goal of batch shipments.
Organized by | Wang Xinyie