China Scene: Central

Mother, son compete to get out of prison

Zhang Ying recently reached an agreement with her son to see which of them could get out of prison first in Changsha, Hunan province.

Zhang, 42, was sentenced to serve a term at the province's women's prison in April 2003. When she learned that her 18-year son Zhou Wei had also been sent to jail two years ago, she was so sad that she considered suicide.

When police learned of their situation, they arranged a monthly visit for Zhou and Zhang and encouraged them to write letters to each other.

Zhang's sentence has been reduced for good behavior, while Zhou has also become a good hand in the workshop.

The mother and son are now competing to see who can win an earlier release.

(Changsha Evening News)

Superstitious man finally sees light of day

A Chinese saying says: "A person can expect good luck if his left eyelid twitches, but will suffer if his right eyelid twitches."

Chen, a superstitious resident of Wuhan's Xinzhou district, in Hubei province, is a firm believer in this piece of wisdom.

Chen, 36, refused to go to work for several days after his right eyelid twitched last week.

Chen would only leave his home on Monday after his wife accompanied him to see an eye doctor.

Doctors cured the condition.

(Wuhan Evening News)

Hungry mouse blamed for kitchen blast

A mouse was identified as the culprit behind a gas explosion at an apartment on Zhongyuan Road, in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, on Monday.

The incident took place at about 8:10 am, when local resident surnamed Song was cooking at home when his kitchen suddenly exploded, damaging the ceiling and windows.

No injuries or deaths were reported.

A thorough investigation revealed that a mouse had chewed through the pipeline.

(Zhengzhou Evening News)

(China Daily 04/25/2008 page6)