China Scene seen in the China Daily

Hong Kong has a rather good free daily newspaper called the China Daily. It is the equivalent of a broadsheet back in the UK and usually headlines with world stories but from the Chinese perspective. Usually the news is represented in a fair and recognisable way, at least compared to the BBC World Service, but with a slight spin here and there to represent the nationalistic perspective.

There is a section called 'ChinaScene' which relates news from other newspapers throughout China. The stories are only a paragraph or two long but they give a great insight to daily life and attitudes in China. I have selected a few gems for your entertainment.

Woman carrying acid to boyfriend's home is burned: Wen Wen was on her way to visit her boyfriend, who had dumped her, to try to reconcile the relationship. But she was severely burned when the acid she was carrying in her pocket leaked out. She explained her boyfriend had refused to marry her.

31 bombs found under farmer's home: A farmer unearthed 31 bombs from under the house he had lived in for 20 years. He realised something was wrong when a magnet in his house moved strangely.

Beijing man kills wife, hides body in balcony: A Beijing man is on trial for killing his ex-wife and hiding her body in a brick wall. He killed her because of a dispute over their child and property. He strangled her and hid the body so the child could not find it.

Woman donates new pair of wheels to dog: A dog that had its front legs amputated and was forced to hop like a kangaroo has received a wheel chair and is now moving about like a normal dog. (?)

Burglar's antics expose him as a bad neighbour: Xiong stole a computer from his neighbour's dorm whilst wearing a face mask to hide his face. When the neighbour woke up and cried for help, Xiong ran away and hid the computer in his own room. He then returned to his neighbour acting breathless and pretending he had chased after burglar. The neighbour saw through the trick and called the police who found the stolen computer in Xiong's room.

Excited mahjong winner swallows false tooth: A mahjong player needed emergency surgery after he swallowed a false metal tooth as he celebrated by laughing out loud on winning a game. Doctor's said the tooth almost broke his aorta because it was lodged in his gullet.

Couple arrested for selling infant baby: A couple sold their son, who was born in January, for 30,000 yuan ($4,390) because they had money issues.

Husband furious over wife's 'missing you' SMS: Peng wants to divorce his wife of 20 years after he read a text message on her mobile phone. He was wakened by his wife's phone as it received a message. The sender wrote that he, or she, was 'missing' her very much. Peng's wife didn't know who sent the message so Peng called the phone company to enquire if they could trace the sender. They told him it could be an April Fool's joke.

It makes a change from quantitative easing and the state of the world's finances.