Society

China Scene: Math-magician throws big challenge

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-03 08:09

South

'Diary-gate' official admits to indiscipline not breach of law

A government official in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, whose alleged graft diary was posted online, told a court on Thursday that his behavior was a breach of discipline rather than the law.

Former tobacco official Han Feng, 53, is on trial at the Nanning Municipal Intermediate People's Court on charges of taking bribes worth 1.01 million yuan ($148,324).

The scandal around Han was dubbed "Diary-gate" by the Chinese media. His diary, which appeared online in March, described his casual sex, drinking parties and under-the-table payments.

Han admitted taking some of the payments detailed in his diary, but claimed this was a violation of discipline rather than illegal activities.

Prosecutors alleged Han took the bribes in exchange for awarding contracts for the refurbishment and construction of office buildings when he worked as head of the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in Qinzhou and Laibin cities in Guangxi.

The diaries detailed his extramarital affairs with five women, but no mention of this was made in court.

Some online postings suggested the diary was posted online by the husband of one of Han's mistresses.

(Xinhua News Agency)

 

West

Exercise or face penalty, govt tells scenic spot staff

The Pengshu county government in Sichuan province has made it a rule for all staff at the Pengzu Mountain scenic spot to perform tai chi, a combination of martial arts and physical exercises, for 10 minutes every morning.

Those who don't comply may face a fine or even dismissal from duty.

The move comes after the government called on county residents to practice Pengzu tai chi as a way to promote traditional culture and longevity.

As part of the campaign, 200 people, including teachers and workers in public institutions, were trained to coach the art.

The government plans to introduce Pengzu tai chi as a study-break exercise on campuses.

(West China Metropolis Daily)

Woman, 52, remarries paralyzed ex-husband

A woman from Chengdu, Sichuan province, recently remarried her ex-husband, whose left side of the body is paralyzed.

Li Yong, now 52, met Xiao Xiachuan, who is 12 years younger to her, in 2000. They tied the knot in 2003, but got divorced only two years later because Xiao was "too lazy to earn bread for the family".

After the divorce, Xiao left for Guangzhou, Guangdong province, only to return to Chengdu and his ex-wife's life four years later. The two started living together.

Last year, Xiao went to Guiyang, Guizhou province, to attend to some family matters when his health deteriorated and doctors conducted an operation on his brain, leaving him paralyzed.

"I will look after him forever," Li said at their second wedding.

(Chengdu Evening Postnorth)

 

North

Mom in search of another mom to play cupid for kids

A Beijing woman has put up posters all over her residential community in a bid to track down a "missed connection".

The notice reads: "We met on Aug 6 at the No 718 bus station. You said you were unsatisfied with your daughter's boyfriend. You said you lived in this building. My son broke up with his girlfriend on Saturday and I have been trying to find you since. Please call me when you read this."

A photograph of the notice has found its way onto the Internet, and has been viewed thousands of times.

An Internet user commented: "The notice clearly shows how worried our parents are about our marriages."

(Shenyang Evening News)

Thief has disabled mother to thank for freedom

A disabled resident of Heilongjiang province came all the way to Beijing to force her son, who was involved in a bankcard fraud, to surrender to the police, authorities said last week.

And it is just for that one reason he has been spared prison time.

Chen, who works in Beijing, found an abandoned bankcard at an ATM and withdrew 6,000 yuan ($882) from the account last month.

When Chen's mother, who can barely walk, came to know of the incident, she wheeled onto the next train to Beijing and dragged her son to the police station.

The Miyun district court sentenced Chen to six months in prison with a six-month reprieve, which basically means no time in jail, all thanks to his no-nonsense mother.

(Beijing Times)

Student claims he failed exam because of accident

A student who was injured in a car crash last year and moved court twice, demanding the driver who caused the accident pay for his high school tuition, was forced to confront failure again.

The student, surnamed Jing, a resident of Tianjin municipality's Hexi district, was injured in the accident early last year and was hospitalized for three weeks with a knee injury.

A few months later he failed the college entrance exam.

This March, a year after the accident, Jing sued Zeng, the driver responsible for the accident, for 23,000 yuan ($3,400). Jing said Zeng must be held responsible for making him spend another year in high school.

According to the district court, which ordered Zeng to pay no more than 1,800 yuan in the first trial, Jing could not provide convincing evidence that the knee injury led to his failure in the exam.

Jing filed for a second trial at the Tianjin No 2 People's Court, which upheld the district court's verdict.

(Bohai Morning Post)

 

Central

Illegal casino boss formally arrested for killing gamblers

An illegal casino owner was formally arrested last Friday on charges of murdering an avid gambler and his girlfriend in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province.

According to the police, the 34-year-old suspect challenged the victims to jump into the Yellow River and then smashed their heads with a heavy stone.

On June 29, the suspect had a quarrel with the victims, who were avid gamblers, after they continued playing on credit.

Later that night, the three got drunk and the suspect challenged them to jump into the Yellow River, which they did.

When the two returned to shore after a dip, the suspect was waiting for them with a massive stone.

He turned himself in the next morning and confessed to the murders.

(Zhengzhou Evening News)

 

East

Math-magician, 70, throws 100,000-yuan challenge

A 70-year-old resident of Hefei, Anhui province, can recite a sequence of 10,000 figures after the decimal point of the ratio of circumference.

Zhang has offered a 10,000-yuan ($1,471) reward to anyone who can challenge his memory, and is willing to raise the amount to 100,000 yuan.

Zhang had a tuberculosis relapse in 1998, and began training to improve his memory, which weakened due to the illness.

(Anhui Commercial Daily)

Want to adopt a cat? Copy of ID card required

A resident of Hefei, Anhui province, has turned his house into a shelter for stray cats.

The man, surnamed Zhang, has sheltered stray cats since 2007. He puts the "delicate ones" up for adoption, while the others he releases in the countryside after sterilizing them.

For those looking to adopt the cats, Zhang has a non-negotiable condition: "They should sterilize the cat, keep the animal inside the house and never abandon it."

Zhang also demands a copy of the interested party's ID card to prevent any sort of "cat abuse".

(Jianghuai Morning Post)