China Scene: Central

Kindly farmer takes in disabled 'brother'

A 59-year-old farmer in Changsha county, Hunan province, has devoted 34 years to the care of a disabled man from her village.

Lin Zhichun, a villager in the county's Baisha township, took in Liu Heshang when she was 25 after his parents died and his aunt abandoned him.

Lin treats Liu, who is three years older than her, as her brother. She brings food to his bedside and helps him change and wash his clothes.

(Xiaoxiang Morning Post)

Boy gets windfall for loss of hand

Zhang Liang, 12, was recently given 184,000 yuan ($26,300) after a train rolled over his right hand in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Zhang and his mother, Yang Li, sued the Wuhan Bureau of Railways last year after failing to reach an agreement for compensation.

Zhang lost his hand as he and his mother were walking along the tracks on Sep 5, 1995. They were unable to avoid an oncoming train because their way was blocked by a flooded culvert.

A court ruled early this week that the mother was responsible for the accident, but the railway bureau should pay the compensation because it had allowed the pedestrian passage to become blocked.

(www.hannet.com)

(China Daily 04/03/2008 page6)