China Scene: East

Taiwan centenarian baptized from wheelchair

A 114-year-old Taiwanese was baptized as a Roman Catholic on Sunday, to become the oldest person to be christened on the island.

Xusong Airen entered a Catholic church in a wheelchair to a standing and warm applause from the gathered crowd. Xusong was born on the Chinese mainland during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and worked as a maid since her childhood. In 1948, she accompanied her employers to Taiwan and remained unmarried all her life. Xusong is now one of the oldest centenarians in Taiwan. Despite her age, she is healthy enough to eat by herself and wheel herself around quickly.

(www.xinhuanet.com)

Police reduce cat to tears to force her out of store

Tear-gas bombs are commonly used in a stand-off between police and criminals. However, on April 9, police in Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, had to use tear gas for a very unusual purpose - to drive a big cat out of a clothing store.

The feline, living with its five new-born kittens in a corner of the store, scratched the store owner's face violently recently when she stepped into the area to sort out the goods. The owner then turned to the police for help, but they too failed to drive out the cat family. Seeing no other way out, police lobbed a tear gas shell into the store and forced the mother cat out several minutes later. The cops then moved the kittens to another safe location.

(Life Daily)

Billionaire seeks surgery for Andy Lau looks

A Shanghai billionaire recently sought out a cosmetic surgeon in Hangzhou for a makeover as Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau, before proposing to the woman under the media spotlight for her obsessive love for Lau.

Li Xingda, 40, is a property developer who owns a dozen companies. Recently, he read stories about the controversial woman Yang Lijuan of Gansu Province who has been chasing after Lau for 13 years and even lost her father to her obsession. He reportedly took his life, leaving behind a note that he hoped that by doing so, Lau would finally pay some attention to his daughter. Her loyalty prompted Li to consider the makeover before making her a marriage proposal. The Hangzhou hospital has told him the surgery will be complicated and cost him at least 3 million yuan ($384,615).

(Huashang Daily)

Deputy gives 5m yuan for anti-desertification effort

A deputy to the provincial People's Congress in Jiangxi Province recently donated 5 million yuan ($641,026) to a foundation involved in a countrywide campaign to check rapidly rising desertification.

The 53-year-old Chen Zhisheng, a former manager of a car manufacturing company in Zhejiang Province, set up the East China Jiaoda College of Sciences and Technology in Jiangxi Province in 2002. On April 8, he handed over the 5 million yuan check to a study group of the China Desertification Controlling Foundation, becoming its first Chinese private entrepreneur donor. Chen called on all environmentally-conscious people to join hands and help turn deserts into oases.

(Jiangxi Daily)

Thief runs right into arms of waiting police

A burglar in Shanghai who accidentally fled into a police station compound as he tried to escape the scene of his attempted theft, has ended up in jail for three years.

Wang sneaked into a residential area last October and stole a motorcycle. When stopped by a security guard, he hastily dropped the motorcycle and fled. Wang climbed over the wall of a nearby yard and hid in one of the offices. Later, he was caught by the police and it was only then that he realized that the office he had hidden in belonged to the local police station.

(Labor Daily)

(China Daily 04/13/2007 page6)