China Scene: East
School must OK students' treating students
If students want to treat fellow students at a restaurant, they must first get the school's permission, says a university in Jiangxi Province.
The students strongly objected to the new ruling, saying their rights are being taken away. The university says the finding of its recent survey provides justification. It learned that many students spend money wastefully in the first half of a month and have to scratch and save in the second half each month. Teachers and parents say the ruling saves the students from their own extravagance.
(Nanjing Daily)
Some will do anything to get out of visiting mum
A woman in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, took her objection to her husband's suggestion that they visit her mother for New Year's to an extreme.
She ran away from home, walked the streets for five days and finally covered herself in a plastic bag and lay still in the middle of the road for several hours. A frightened passer-by called police, who rushed to the spot in early morning of January 4. They were relieved to find the woman in the bag alive. She told the story about not wanting to visit her mother after she was taken to a salvation office.
(Southeast Express)
Young man's plan to buy girl a ring prompts arrest
Maybe the young man's heart was in the right place, but the end doesn't justify the means.
Li, who works for an architectural firm in Jimo, Shandong Province, wanted money to buy his girlfriend a golden ring so much, police say he stole materials from the firm and sold them.
Police arrested him last Sunday, saying they caught him in the act on the fourth time.
The ring cost 2,000 yuan ($256), and Li promised the girlfriend he would buy it for her within one month. When he ran into money problems, he said he turned to selling the materials, from which he had raised 1,500 yuan ($192). Police said he shouted "I love you" as they carted him off.
(Qingdao Morning Post)
Leukemic woman wants to set up pet foundation
A young woman in Shanghai who is at the edge of dying from leukemia said her New Year's wish is to set up a foundation for stray dogs with the money she had earned by managing an online store.
The girl was diagnosed with leukemia last October, days before her wedding. To collect money for her medical expenses, the girl opened an online store selling pet food and toys. Her tragic story has spread through the Internet, attracting the sympathy of numerous friends who shared the same passion for pets. In one month, the girl has earned about 2,000 yuan ($256) from the store.
(Youth Daily)
First 'divorce company' opens Hangzhou office
The rise in divorce cases in China has fostered the birth of companies that mainly serve married couples in crisis.
A Shanghai company, widely known as the first "divorce company" in China, opened its 28th office in Hangzhou last Sunday. Its main business is to provide legal counsel to people who are about to get divorced and help them get the biggest possible share of property out of the divorce. By the end of last year, the company had helped more than 1,000 couples reconcile and 300 divorce peacefully. The number of divorced people younger than 35 in Hangzhou increased by 30 percent in 2005 compared with the figure in 2004.
(Hangzhou Daily)
(China Daily 01/10/2007 page6)
