China Scene: North

Foster father searches for son's parents

A father from Beijing is committed to finding the natural parents of his adopted son. He and his wife took custody of the boy soon after his birth in 1980.

"Although his parents' whereabouts are still unknown, I hope I can find them for my foster son and help him come to terms with his own identity," the man surnamed Wang told media on Monday.

After his wife died in 1993, Wang, 68, brought up the son independently, spending all his savings on the boy.

He told his son he was adopted when he turned 18.

(Beijing Morning Post)

Father and son arrested for destroying murder clues

A father surnamed Li, along with his eldest son have been arrested for destroying evidence.

The evidence pertained to Li's youngest son, a middle school student, who allegedly killed a neighbor and her baby.

After getting into a trifling dispute with the woman in April, Li's hot-blooded son broke into her home in Chengde County of Hebei province, killing her and her two-year-old boy.

After learning of the crime, Li failed to call police and helped his son run away. To destroy evidence, he and his other son even tried to burn the dead, but were caught in the act.

(Yanzhao Metropolis News)

Drunken girl lands man in hot water and driver in pain

Police in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, have arrested a man who beat a cab driver for helping his drunken girlfriend get home.

The girlfriend was so drunk she called the cab driver "sweetheart" as she was helped out of the car by her actual boyfriend, who was waiting for her. He then suspected the cabbie had taken advantage of his girlfriend on the way home.

After punching the driver in the face and threatening to destroy his car, the woman's boyfriend was later arrested.

(East Asia Economy and Trade News)

Terror hoax blows up in face of cheeky motorist

A young driver was taken into custody for a terror hoax at a passenger station near a canal in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province.

After being stopped at the station for a check earlier last month, Miao, the 28-year-old driver, got so annoyed by the delay he claimed his car contained "a bomb".

After evacuating the station, police scoured through the car, but found nothing and detained him for five days for deliberately disturbing society.

(Yanzhao Metropolis News)

Couples tie knot in resting place of their fathers

Two young couples, who majored in funeral services at college and now work as morticians in Tianjin, held their wedding ceremony at a cemetery earlier last month.

They wanted to let their dead parents witness the happy occasion.

"One of my father's greatest wishes was to take part in my wedding," Li Kang, the bridegroom, said. "Now, I bring my bride to where he rests in the hope he could witness my happy time and bless us."

The wedding is believed the first ever to be held in a memorial park in China.

(Metro Express)

Man's dream of pet peacock stopping traffic

A beautiful peacock has been winning admirers ever since his owner began walking the colorful bird on the street each afternoon in Changchun, capital of Jilin province.

Many people now stop to have a photograph taken with the 3-year-old pet bird owned by a man surnamed Zhang.

"It's so smart it often poses for such photographs with whoever it meet during its walk," he said.

"I kept the bird as a pet to realize the dream I had since my childhood," he said.

"As a protected species, peacocks should not be kept as a pet at random," experts said.

Because peacocks are a protected species, experts have urged Zhang to register the bird with local authorities.

(City Evening News)

(China Daily 06/04/2008 page6)