China Scene: West

Man travels country to promote Games

A 69-year-old has traveled over 190,000 km across the country to promote Olympic spirit.

When Dong Keming from Yining, Xinjiang Uyqur autonomous region, learned Beijing was preparing in 2000 to be the host for the 2008 Games, he decided to make a personal contribution to promote the Games.

He and his wife took off on a road trip from his hometown in Yining city on July 1, 2000.

Over the past eight years, the couple has visited over 1,600 municipalities and counties.

(www.cnr.cn)

Golden opportunity lands man in jail

A man surnamed Yue from Zhuanglang county, Gansu province, has been arrested by police for using a stolen banking card to turn a profit of nearly 200,000 yuan.

After Yue stole a wallet from a city bus passenger, he used the birth date of an ID card to figure out the victim's banking passwords.

Yue withdrew money from the bank to buy gold, which he managed to sell for 190,000 ($27, 143) yuan.

Police investigated the case and recently apprehended Yue in his hometown.

(http://szb.nxnet.cn)

No victim to cerebral palsy

An 18-year-old sufferer of cerebral palsy from Chongqing, has overcome the challenges of his disease through a series of personal accomplishments.

Liguan Yanping's latest achievement is the launch of his own online blog, in Chinese and English.

After Liguan was born with the disease, which stunts human development, doctors saw little hope for recovery.

But, Liguan's parent made great efforts to teach him how to talk and walk. As the child grew up, he showed strong determination.

In 2006, Liguan won the championship title in a nation-wide competition for disabled peoples.

He has also learned English, French and Japanese online.

"Though I suffer from serious disease, my life is full of hope," Liguan said.

(www.xinhuanet.com)

Man used beer bottles to make mom comfortable

A farmer in Mizhi county, Shaanxi province, used beer bottles to make a solar water-heating device so his elderly mother could take a warm bath every day.

Ma Yanjun, 42, a resident of a remote mountainous area where farmers aren't even afforded the necessity of bathing after a long day working in the field, collected dozens of beer bottles and improvised the water-heating device in 2006.

Ma's device not only gifted his 73-year-old mother a bath every day, it also attracted the envy of 20 local farmers, who recruited Ma to help them build their own.

(Xi'an Evening News)

Society protects wild animals

A wild animal protection society in Xining, capital of Qinghai province, has had success with protecting wild animals over the past decade.

The society recently held a promotional drive to further send its message.

Since 1998, the society along with the municipal forest bureau, have focused on protecting the animals.

Since then, some 1,400 wild animals have been saved from being sold on the market by local hunters.

(www.qhnews.com)

Police cease actions of pickpocket gang

Police have arrested a group of deaf-mute pickpocketers in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uyqur autonomous region.

The ringleader of the 24-member pickpocket gang, surnamed Lu, used the Internet to connect to his nation-wide members. Lu would contact them to come to the city for jobs.

Police received a tip in March, and investigated the case, following the group's whereabouts.

Police successfully arrested each member of the group on separate occasions in April and May. The pickpocketers were all caught for stealing money from passengers on buses.

(www.wlmqwb.com)

(China Daily 06/04/2008 page6)