IN BRIEF (Page 25)

Water price could rise 24 percent

The Beijing government wants to increase the price of water by almost 24 percent to 4.6 yuan per cu m to cut down on water use.

Concerned teenager offers alternative plan

A 16-year-old high school student has proposed that the perfect charge for water in Beijing should be 50 yuan per cu m, up from the current rate of 3.7 yuan per cu m.

Homeowner battles against unwanted housing heating

One resident's four-year fight against a heating company will go before a court for the fifth time, the longest such battle against unwanted public heating in Beijing.

Dodgy recruiters banned from campus fairs

More than 10 companies have been placed on a campus job fair blacklist as part of a crackdown on dodgy recruiters, the Beijing career guide center for graduates said.

Beijing Bites

Taxi driver killed

Hiding for Christmas scrooges

Between now and Dec 25, Western expats in Beijing will be counting the days until Christmas. They happily buy and wrap gifts, decorate Christmas trees and plan holiday meals, cheerily humming Christmas carols all the while.

No return to the 'iron rice bowl'

When I graduated from university four years ago, a classmate got a job as a municipal civil servant and bragged that he could spend his days doing very little, but still enjoy a better-than-average salary and welfare package. I thought he didn't have goals in life and I pitied him.

More liberal approach needed for gay bars

The gay bar funded by the Dali health bureau has become a controversial topic in the press, due to reporting by CCTV and Internet media. However, probably nobody in the debate had expected it would close on the eve of the World AIDS Day.

What's on

Stage

Somber passage

It's a subject most expats prefer to avoid, but the question still nags from time to time - what will happen to their body if they die in China?

A day in the life of a mortician

It is a job that faces death every day, a job of creepiness, a job without much pay. But some young people treat the job of mortician as a life-long career and have discovered the meaning of death and life.