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Stolen boy home thanks to micro blogs - China News - SINA English

Peng Gaofeng hugs his 6-year-old son on Tuesday at a police station in Pizhou city, East China’s Jiangsu province, after he was reunited with the boy who was kidnapped in March 2008.

BEIJING — An unprecedented large-scale online campaign to help parents find their missing children achieved its first big breakthrough on Tuesday, reuniting a father with his 6-year-old son who had been missing for three years.

Peng Gaofeng, a 30-year-old from South China’s Shenzhen city, burst into tears on Tuesday afternoon at the sight of his son in Pizhou city in East China’s Jiangsu province, which is more than 1,000 km from Shenzhen.

"He’s my boy. It couldn’t be wrong. He still recognizes me and knows how to speak our hometown dialect," Peng told China Daily over the phone on Tuesday evening while waiting for the DNA test results that will prove the wonderful news.

His son, Peng Wenle, was kidnapped from Shenzhen on March 25, 2008, and the family had been trying every thing it could think of ever since to get him back.

"It’s a miracle, a miracle that could not be true without the help of netizens," the father said.

"I’ve opened 13 blogs on the Internet and pasted my son’s photo everywhere online, including the micro blogs at sina.com. Now, the efforts have paid off."

He said he received an unnamed netizen’s mobile phone message, including a photo of his son, on Feb 2, the Chinese new year eve, and rushed to Pizhou to rescue the boy with the help of local police.

His son is believed to be the first missing child to be reunited with his family thanks to a campaign launched by netizens on micro blogs at sina.com on Jan 25.

Yu Jianrong, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the initiator of the campaign, called for netizens to take snapshots of children they see begging in the street and of other children they think might have been kidnapped. The netizens can then post the photos on the micro blogs in the hope that family members will see them.

By Tuesday, more than 83,000 netizens had participated in the campaign, and there were 588,870 entries about the campaign on micro blogs at sina.com by Tuesday evening.

Yu said on his micro blog that he was prompted to act after he got a letter from a desperate parent whose child had been abducted and who turned to him for help.

He said he would like to see the elimination of child begging by outlawing the practice and wants to help more families reunite with their missing children.

Th e campaign has received nationwide attention and been the subject of widespread discussion and has received support from officials from the Ministry of Public Security, as well as the country’s legislators and political advisers.

"We’ve noticed the online campaign and appreciated it," Chen Shiqu, director of the ministry’s office that tackles human trafficking, said over the phone on Tuesday.

"Every citizen is welcome to provide clues," he said. "I’ll urge local police departments to follow the clues on the micro blogs." On Tuesday morning, Chen also put a picture of Wu Zhenglian, a toplevel suspect thought to be involved in kidnapping, on his micro blog at sina.com in the hope that netizens will help with his capture.

Chi Susheng, a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), and Han Hong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), have also contacted Yu and expressed their interest in submitting a proposal to ban child begging and severely punish human-traffickers during this year’s NPC and CPPCC plenary sessions in March.

Yang Peng, secretary-general of the Shenzhen-based One Foundation, said his organization will also consider launching a specific project offering help in rescuing children who have been forced to beg on the streets, according to a report by the Xiaoxiang Morning Post.

Zhang Zhiwei, a lawyer and volunteer with the non-government organization Baby Come Home, said the rapidly expanding campaign shows that micro blogs are exerting an increasing influence on society and that they can play a role in altering legislation and policies.

However, he emphasized that such online activity needs to be better coordinated with government departments and professional NGOs because the increasing number of photos will mean nothing without professional sorting, analysis and comparison.

Some netizens have also expressed concerns about the potential risks taken by volunteers taking photos and the children who are photographed.

Wang Xiaoshan, a well-known critic and writer, wrote on his micro blog at sina.com on Monday that human traffickers may take revenge on people taking the photos and on the abducted children whose vital information is exposed.

Wang suggested that netizens do not post clear pictures of the young beggars or reveal their own identities.

And even for Peng, who has now finally seen his son aft er 1,050 days, the nightmare is not over.

"I’m worried about whether my son will be willing to go home with me," the father said, sadly. "One of his neighbors told me the boy might want to stay."

"I want help from psychologists on how to erase the memory of the past three years from my boy’s mind."

Unbelievable!

A visitor gets out of a modified bus from which passengers can feed live chickens to carnivores using a special hole (top-L) at the Shanghai Wildlife Park on February 9, 2011. Though the park signed a 2005 convention along with other zoos in China stating it will not feed live animals, the convention only covers big livestock, allowing visitors to purchase a live chicken for 60 yuan (9 USD) to feed carnivores such as lions and tigers.

A tiger holds a chicken thrown by visitors at the Shanghai Wildlife Park on February 9, 2011. Though the park signed a 2005 convention along with other zoos in China stating it will not feed live animals, the convention only covers big livestock, allowing visitors to purchase a live chicken for 60 yuan (9 USD) to feed carnivores while ridding a modified bus.

In this file photo taken in 2007, Major-General Lo Hsien-che is seen in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan has arrested a senior military officer accused of spying for rival China, the island's defence authorities said on February 9, 2011, warning citizens to beware of the mainland despite warming ties between the two sides. The 51-year-old officer, Major-General Lo Hsien-che, is accused of collecting intelligence for Beijing for at least six years and is believed to be the highest-ranking Taiwanese military official accused of espionage for China. Picture taken in 2007

Rebecca Kanthor (R) and Liu Jian (L) drink red wine as part of their traditional Chinese wedding in Dong'an at the central province of Henan, February 9, 2011. Rebecca Kanthor moved from New York State to China eight years ago, where she met Liu Jian, a young musician from the central Chinese province of Henan. After several years together they decided to get married in a traditional rural wedding. In the ceremony, the groom arrives on a horse while his bride is carried around the town by four men, announcing the marriage. Liu is the first person from Dong'an to marry a foreigner. Beyond headlines about climate change and trade relations, Rebecca and Liu's union is symbolic of the growing cultural integration between China and the United States. Since the 1972 visit to China by U.S. President Richard Nixon, the two countries have developed what is arguably the most important relationship among major powers with huge economic implications. Now, three decades in, the United States and China have settled into what some describe as a "mature marriage," bound together by mutual interests and mutual respect. Picture taken on February 9, 2011.

Members of the Chinese community in India gather in front of the 'city gates' as they watch a dragon dance during the celebration of the Lunar New Year in China Town, Kolkata,on February 2, 2011. Chinese New Year is considered to be the most important day in the Chinese calendar, and is celebrated extensively throughout Asia. The New Year has different traditions depending on the region, but it is common to buy charms, decorations, and have traditional dances and parades with lion and dragon puppets.

A tourist from mainland China (R) visits a jewellery store to check out potential purchases in Hong Kong on February 9, 2011. Over the next decade, Chinese consumers -- including a surging number of billionaires -- will account for 44 percent of global spending on goods such as bags, vehicles, watches, shoes and clothes, a recent report by brokerage CLSA said.

Crew members of the legendary flagship for environmental group Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior (behind) watch as a lion dance is performed (not pictured) upon the ship's arrival to Hong Kong on February 9, 2011. The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior, which is currently on a tour of East Asia, arrived in the southern Chinese territory on her final tour before retiring after 21 years in service and will be replaced next autumn by a new vessel. This ship will visit South Korea after Hong Kong.

Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung poses smiles at the press conference of the announcement of nominations of the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in Hong Kong Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2010.

Crackdown saves more kid beggars - China News - SINA English

BEIJING - People forcing disabled children to beg in a county in East China's Anhui province have 10 days to turn themselves in or face harsh penalties from authorities, an official of Taihe county said on Wednesday.

The move, coinciding with a nationwide online campaign to crack down on child begging, came following media reports highlighting the area, where incidents of child begging have been an alarming trend.

Two disabled children have been rescued and five suspects detained in the county's Gongji town as a result of the crackdown, which started on Feb 6 and was carried out by 160 policemen and government officials, said Zhang Junguo, a local publicity official of the county.

However, no abuse of the rescued children has been found, Zhang stressed.

Gong Chunfeng, 61, was detained for taking a 10-year-old disabled boy to beg in Central China's Hunan province. Gong told police he has paid the boy's family 4,000 yuan ($610) every year since 2006.

The government of Gongji town released a circular on Monday informing local residents that forcing children under the age of 14 or juveniles with disabilities to beg is illegal and they will face severe punishment if caught.

"The high mobility of the labor force creates difficulties for us to know what the migrant workers are actually doing outside, so we encourage people to make reports if they suspect their neighbors or people in the their villages of doing this nasty business," Zhang told China Daily.

Taihe county has a population of 1.7 million, with more than 400,000 people flowing into the major cities to work, Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported.

A hotline for informants to report any child begging they witness was also included in the notice.

"Some villagers found out that organizing disabled children to beg can win more sympathy from people and help them make money more easily," Zhang said.

Gong Chuanwen, who has been Party secretary of Gongxiao village in Taihe county for 27 years, reportedly said the average annual income for local farmers is only 1,500 yuan if they rely on agriculture. In contrast, some local villagers who make profits from using children have already built fancy houses, Gong told Oriental Morning Post.

The online campaign, launched on micro blogs at sina.com.cn about two weeks ago, called on netizens to take photos of children begging on the streets. It has gained the support of police across the country.

An estimated six child beggars have been successfully rescued by police thanks to the online campaign, Zhejiang-based Qianjiang Evening News reported without identifying the source.

By the end of Wednesday, the campaign, which aimed to help parents find their missing children, has become the second most popular topic of micro blogs at sina.com.cn.

"All children should enjoy an education and a happy childhood rather than act as tools by adults to gain the sympathy of passers-by," Gao Jun, an active volunteer from Beijing, wrote on his micro blog.

Romance for rent

Tang Yongxue waves a placard as she looks for a fake boyfriend for Spring Festival in Chengdu, Sichuan province. She offered 10,000 yuan for five days's work. [File photo]

On Dec 14, Tang Yongxue stood on a street in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and waved a placard that read: "Fake boyfriend needed for Spring Festival - 10,000 yuan ($1,500) for five days' work." She told reporters she wanted to rent a man to accompany her home to reassure her parents. The candidate had to be aged 26 to 30, at least 1.75 meters tall and "insightful".

Although dismissed as a publicity stunt by many people, the incident highlights the huge pressure on China's growing population of single urbanites to marry.

Tang's tactic has been widely adopted online by desperate bachelors and bachelorettes. Want ads for fake holiday partners run for pages on many popular Chinese micro-blogging websites, such as Sina, while some stores on Taobao, the online marketplace, also offer boyfriends and girlfriends for hire.

"It's a fun idea to help another person temporarily release the pressure of getting married," said netizen "Howe.C", who declined to give his real name. "Plus, spending the holiday with total strangers is interesting."

The office worker, who is in his late 20s and lives in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, said he will not go home this Spring Festival as he fears the long journey may stop him from returning to work on time. He posted an advertisement on Douban, a major online community, offering to pretend to be someone's boyfriend in Wuhan or neighboring cities. He describes himself as athletic, outgoing and humorous, not handsome but well educated and polite.

Speaking for his generation, "Howe.C" said: "We shouldn't marry simply because we reach marital age. We'll find true love but it takes time. Sometimes parents push us too hard. The pressure is especially bad for women who are almost 30. The general conception goes that the older a woman gets, the fewer marriage opportunities she is left with. I empathize with them."

In his advertisement, he sets his fee at just 1 yuan. "I'm well paid for my job," added the netizen. "I get great pleasure from helping others."

Although renting a boyfriend or girlfriend sounds like cheating the people who care most, supporters often defend the practice by saying it is a white lie with mutual benefits. Not only does it bring comfort to elderly family members, they argue, but it also saves singles from a holiday of arguing with their parents. For hired lovers, they get their fee, as well as free accommodation and travel.

Some people even add that, if they are lucky enough, a fake couple could become real lovers if they hit it off.

On the flip side, cheating is hard work. "You need to make up more stories to cover for the first lie," said Beijing bachelor Ren Hong, 31, who added that if parents find out the truth "they will feel more heartbroken" than if their child had turned up alone.

"My parents constantly urge me to find a girlfriend," he said, "but I tell them I'm happy with the way I live now. I believe they'll also be happy for me. I'll never cheat on them."

Ren suggested that instead of picking a stranger to play the part (usually one pleasing to the eye), people should take the time to look for a serious relationship. Making progress is better than no movement and it will also please the parents, he said.

For Hou Zhiming, a Beijing legal researcher and relationship counselor, sometimes faking it can be justified, but is best avoided. "There is nothing wrong about children wanting to cheer up their parents," she said. "Faking may be acceptable if one has a critically ill grandparent whose last wish is to see the grandchild settling down.

"However, if that's not the case, I suggest people don't bring fake boyfriends or girlfriends home. They can take a photo and show it to parents, explain that it is too early in the relationship to talk about marriage. Something less risky like that," she suggested.

Renting A Girlfriend for Home Reunion, a 24-episode television drama, is being aired on channels across China. The leading character, Sun Yiwei, is the perfect guy in every respect but cannot stand going on blind dates arranged by his parents. So he hires Chu Xiaoxiao to play his girlfriend. In the end, the couple fall in love and get married.

The happy ending has fueled netizens' romantic imaginations. Yet, Hou warns against the belief that real life can be as perfect and dramatic as the show depicts.

"Many single people are misled by TV dramas and want an ideal match," she said. "They should be more down to earth, then they don't even need a fake partner."

Most people looking for stand-in lovers want a stranger rather than an acquaintance to do the job, as they believe it will cause less trouble and embarrassment afterward. However, with a stranger there are always potential risks, such as if the person turns out to be a thief, said Hou.

The relationship counselor pointed out that lying is essentially the immature option. "People need to be rational when communicating with parents," she said.

"Tell them you're pleased with being single, but that you also dream of a happy marriage and will strive for it if Mister or Missus Right comes along."

"Howe.C" is yet to receive a reply to his advertisement. He hopes people find a real lover to take home. "After all," he said, "money can't buy love or happiness."

Dungeon rapist sentenced to death

BEIJING - A man was sentenced to death for kidnapping and caging two girls in a dungeon and raping nine other women, said a verdict of the Intermediate People's Court of Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, on Sunday.

Zeng Qiangbao, a 40-year-old worker in a steel factory in Wuhan, was convicted of rape, illegally imprisoning, robbery and forcible seizure, according to the verdict.

The court heard that Zeng had caged two teenage girls in a dungeon for 590 days and 317 days as sex slaves until they were rescued by police on May 14 last year. He also raped another nine women from July 2007 to May 2010, the prosecutor said.

According to the prosecutor, on Sept 16, 2008, Zeng captured 16-year-old Hu and took her to a dungeon under his house and raped her.

On July 2, 2009, Zeng kidnapped a 19-year-old girl surnamed Zhou and sexually assaulted her. The girl was also kept in the dungeon.

The girls were repeatedly beaten and raped by Zeng, the prosecutor said.

The two were rescued on May 14, 2010, after a man surnamed Du visited his friend's electronics repair shop and found a note in a partially dismantled television. It read: "Help. I've been held prisoner underground for more than a year."

Along with the words was a hand-drawn map that showed where the girls were being kept, as well as the telephone number and address of Zhou's family.

Du called the number and informed the father, who lived just 200 meters from where his daughter was being held. The father immediately called police and arrived at the scene a few hours later.

The police later rushed to the scene and found the two girls naked and on the verge of death.

A week before the rescue, Zeng was detained by the local police for allegedly raping a woman who later reported him to the police.

However, Zeng said nothing to the police about the girls in the dungeon when police interrogated him.

The case shocked the media and the public, and Zeng was referred to as a "dungeon devil".

"Zeng, who devastated the physical and psychological health of the girls and exerted an extremely negative influence on society, should be severely punished," said the verdict.

After the verdict was announced, Zeng said he would appeal to a higher court, claiming the sentence is too severe as he didn't cause death or pregnancy. He also claimed he has a mental problem and will apply for psychiatric evaluation.

Residents of Zeng's hometown, Xujiagang, a remote village in suburban Wuhan, were shocked as Zeng had been an "introverted, silent and honest person" in their minds. They said he had been divorced and once lived with his mother.

A 60-year-old neighbor surnamed Xu told China Daily that "he was the last person in the village I would have expected to do a thing like this".

Li Meijin, a professor of crime psychology at Chinese People's Public Security University, said Zeng's behavior should be seen as sexual perversion and he should take full responsibility.

"The key factor to see if one is mentally ill is to see whether he or she is able of protecting himself or herself while committing crimes," Li told China Daily, "In this case, Zeng was able to control two girls and kept others from knowing for so long, I would say he has normal consciousness."

Cao Yin contributed to this story.

Well, the trend of singles in PRC "renting" partners to show to parents during important ocasions such as Chinese New Year is turning into a business opportunity for some as there are now apparently agencies set up to do this sort of "match-making".

Anyway, a journalist who continually wrote articles critical of PRC's authorities have allegedly been sacked:

Chinese journalist says he was fired for writings - Forbes.com

Associated Press
Chinese journalist says he was fired for writings
By ALEXA OLESEN , 01.27.11, 11:21 PM EST

BEIJING -- A Chinese journalist known for being critical of the government said Friday that he's been fired by one of the country's most daring media companies for refusing to tone down his writing, the latest sign of China's tightening grip on press freedom.

Chang Ping, a former editor and columnist for publications owned by the Southern Media Group, said the dismissal wasn't linked to any single piece of writing but rather his consistently critical tone.

China's censors routinely scrub domestic news and online content of material they consider destabilizing or threatening to the communist leadership, but the Internet is so vast and porous that forbidden information increasingly gets through to the public. This has emboldened many Chinese journalists and publications to push the boundaries in their reporting, a trend the government is trying to contain.

Chang's employer confirmed he had been let go but wouldn't say why.

"Chang Ping's contract expired and it was not renewed," said a woman surnamed Deng who answered the phone at the Southern Metropolis Daily, one of the papers Chang used to write for. She said editors were too busy to be interviewed and that the paper had nothing more to add about the situation.

Chang, 42, drew fire from authorities and other domestic columnists in 2008 when he wrote an editorial saying that foreign media should be allowed to report firsthand on bloody ethnic riots in Tibet and advocating dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. He's also written about corruption and China's need for greater political and personal freedoms.

Southern Media Group's two main publications, Southern Metropolis Daily and Southern Weekend, stopped publishing his commentaries six months ago, he said.

The Guangzhou-based writer said that he thought his dismissal was part of a Chinese campaign against free speech and press that has intensified since jailed democracy activist Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in November.

"I am very angry that I've been punished for my words," Chang said. "The bigger picture, the background is that I am not the only one. There have been other editors recently with other papers that have been dealt with as well."

He cited two recent incidents documented by the Hong Kong-based China Media Project, which keeps track of media reform trends in mainland China. The first was the firing of Long Can, a journalist with the Chengdu Commercial Daily in Sichuan who was dismissed last week after writing about official negligence and influence peddling related to the botched rescue of a group of university students in a remote scenic area. Because of mishandling, a police officer died in the rescue.

He also pointed to a separate China Media Project report about Peng Xiaoyun, an editor with Time Weekly, who was forced into involuntary leave after his publication came out with a list of influential people that included a jailed Chinese food activist and several people who had signed Charter '08, a bold call for political reform co-authored by Liu, the Nobel Prize winner.


Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Spartan95, thanks for posting your opinion along with news articles.

This renting a date thing is weird. Who are these people trying to fool? Their relatives? I don't get it at all.

Chinese man Peng Gaofeng (L) holds his son Peng Wenle, who had been missing for three years after being kidnapped, as they arrive in Shenzhen on February 10, 2011. A Chinese microblog that helps parents find missing children has become a sensation, shining a light on child abductions and the growing power of Twitter-like Internet services in China.

BEIJING - FEBRUARY 10: A Chinese girl removes the snow around the Great Hall of the People on February 10, 2011 in Beijing, China. Winter snow fall began on Wednesday night as meteorologists believe the latest snowfall which began on Wednesday and continued through to Thursday to be the latest snowfall in sixty years.

BEIJING - FEBRUARY 10: Two Chinese women play during removing the snow around the Great Hall of the People on February 10, 2011 in Beijing, China

The cheerleading team from Taiwan's Shih Hsin University rehearse for Friday's Chingay parade next to a float with Shou, the Chinese deity of longevity, in Singapore February 10, 2011. Chingay, which means "the art of masquerade" in Chinese Hokkien dialect, is an annual street and floats parade held during the Chinese Lunar New Year period in Singapore.

Donald Lee, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, talks to reporters in Manila on February 9, 2011. Lee confirmed he was being recalled to Taipei as a protest over the deportation of 14 Taiwanese to China by Philippine authorities. The 14 were arrested in December over alleged credit card fraud, and Taiwan has accused the Philippines of succumbing to political pressure from China. AFP PHOTO / JAY DIRECTO (Photo credit should read JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Campaign to save child beggars ignites controversy - China News - SINA English

The nationwide campaign aimed at rescuing child beggars has stirred controversy, with some experts arguing that the society should make more efforts to protect the long-term benefits of children.

The debate was triggered by an editorial calling for an end to child begging, which has drawn criticism from the public, some of whom accused it of depriving children of their rights to beg.

The editorial, titled "Let the phenomenon of child beggars disappear from China," was published Thursday in the Beijing News. It said that the government should make more efforts to ensure no children have to beg in the future.

In order to end the phenomenon, relevant authorities including judicial, education and civil administration departments, need to join forces to protect the rights and interests of all children, said the editorial.

Ai Weiwei, an activist artist, told the Global Times Thursday that as a method of survival, beg-ging should be permitted if it is done voluntarily.

Yu Jianrong, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and also one of the first figures to appeal to people to help child beggars in his microblog, told the Global Times that most child beggars were manipulated by criminal gangs, and that they were not mature enough to make judgments by themselves.

"These child beggars really suffer so much," Yu said, adding that he would initiate more activi-ties to call on people to take part in rescuing these child beggars.

Yu appealed to net users in his microblog on January 25 to take photos of child beggars on the streets to help them find families. By Thursday, over 460,000 messages and 2,500 photos had been released on the Internet and six child beggars were rescued around China.

Zhang Zhiwei, a lawyer who specializes in research on protecting children's rights, told the Global Times that it was not the appropriate time to talk about the right to beg.

"It is meaningless to discuss the right to beg. The government should force them to get help," Zhang said.

1 of the effects of a society growing more affluent is that divorce rates go up as women become more financially independent. This trend is now taking place in PRC:

China's divorce rate jumps; wealth, regulations blamed - The China Post

Updated Tuesday, February 8, 2011 10:50 pm TWN, AFP
China's divorce rate jumps; wealth, regulations blamed

BEIJING--The number of people who divorced in China shot up in 2010 — a trend on the rise in the world's most populous nation as men and women earn better money and become more independent. A total of 1.96 million couples applied for divorce last year, a 14.5 percent increase from 2009, according to figures published on the website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

A previous state media report had erroneously said 1.2 million couples tied the knot in 2010, while the ministry figures put the number at 12.1 million.

China's divorce rate has risen gradually at an average of 7.65 percent a year since 2003 when the law regulating marriage was amended, simplifying both marriage and divorce procedures, according to the state-run Legal Evening News.

Before, in many areas of China, couples who wanted to divorce had to get a written certificate from their workplaces or neighborhood committees before the split could be finalized, it said.

Some lawmakers in China — shocked at the country's high divorce rate — have called for a return to those practices, but so far the amendment has remained untouched.

The report said rising wealth and independence also contributed to higher divorce rates.

The southwestern province of Sichuan had the highest divorce rate last year, which the report attributed partly to a high concentration of people working away from home, leading to couples being separated for long periods of time.

From what I have heard, "lightning" marriages and divorces are increasingly common amongst the younger generation in the more cosmopolitan cities on the coast.

Originally Posted by bd popeye

...

This renting a date thing is weird. Who are these people trying to fool? Their relatives? I don't get it at all.

...

Yes, it is trying to fool their parents/relatives. Maybe they have been nagging way too much and way too long about how their geeky/introverted son - that they created from making him sit in his room and get to know his textbooks a little too well - is not bringing home any potential future bride on X day (new years or what-not-holiday) to ensure his family that they will see grandchildren; and he either:

A. Get some ballz and tell them to STFU
B. Be extremely rude and not show up for Chinese/Lunar New Years in defiance
C. Rent-A-Girl to shut'em up for the day...

You know what? For males this problem will increase as of now. because of the imbalance of male to females in China brought on by the one child per family policy.

Originally Posted by bd popeye

You know what? For males this problem will increase as of now. because of the imbalance of male to females in China brought on by the one child per family policy.

I think the gender disparity is actually decreasing, most modern Chinese families don't care as much for boys rather than girls now.
I think the problem has increased, and won't peak too much higher, and then the balance will restore itself.

Thanks Blitzo! I hope the culture there in China recovers from the "gender imbalance!"

Gender Imbalance? How about an aging population like much of the rest of the world?

China needs to prepare well for ageing population: vice premier - China News - SINA English

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese society will age fast in the next five years and the government must be well prepared for the demographic change, said Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu here Friday.

Government policies needed adjusting and the social insurance network should be improved, Hui said at a meeting of the China National Committee on Aging.

Also services for senior citizens should be better developed to meet their needs, said Hui, also the committee's director.

The country will also work to expand the pension system in the rural area and cover as many senior people as possible, he said.

Health authorities plan to build more medical facilities for the elderly and urban planning should take the needs of senior people into consideration, he said.

Chinese fishing boat sunk by foreign container ship - China News - SINA English

HAIKOU, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese fisherman was seriously injured after the fishing boat he was on was sunk Friday by a Bahamas-registered container ship in waters between the Chinese mainland and southern island province of Hainan, transport authorities said.

The accident occurred at 7:35 a.m. on the Qiongzhou Strait, when the container ship "EAGLE SKY" hit the fishing boat registered in Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said a spokesman with the South China Sea Rescue Bureau under the Ministry of Transport.

Eight crew members onboard the fishing boat were rescued by the foreign ship.

The injured, who suffered brain hemorrhage, was in a stable condition after treatment, the spokesman said.

Rescuers said it was foggy when the collision occurred. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

Good riddance to that rapist. I wish the US have similar laws against such monstrosity.

That is still odd. From what I know they have sprinkler system which prevent such thing. The other thing is what material is the building made of.


As for the article for ending child begging, I can understand why some people are against it, but I think the whole thing was to prevent children being abducted, have their limbs cut or broken and make them beg. There is actually a group that does this inhumane things in China that makes you want to kill those people

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (R) meets visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at State House in Harare, February 11, 2011. Zimbabwe is an important ally to China and Beijing will seek to further strengthen ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang said of a country isolated by the West under Mugabe's rule.

Visitors stand on the deck of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior (rear) as a sampan motors by during an open day for the Rainbow Warrior as she lies moored in Hong Kong on February 12, 2011. The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior, which is currently on a tour of East Asia, arrived in the southern Chinese territory on her final tour before retiring after 21 years in service and will be replaced next autumn by a new vessel. This ship will visit South Korea after Hong Kong.

This photo taken on February 10, 2011 shows Chinese children playing at the snow-covered Forbidden City during the year's first snowfall overnight in Beijing. The Chinese capital had faced its longest wait for winter snowfall in 60 years as wide swathes of northern China suffers through its worst spell of drought since 1951.

A worker wears rabbit costume for an advertisement at the Bund, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the town Friday, Feb. 11, 2011 in Shanghai, China. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit.

This photo taken on February 10, 2011 shows pedestrians walking along a street following the year's first snowfall overnight in Beijing.

TAIZHOU, CHINA - FEBRUARY 10: Firemen fight a fire at the Sunray International Apartments on February 10, 2011 in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Initial investigation shows the fire was caused by fireworks while people were celebrating the Lunar New Year.

QINGDAO, CHINA - FEBRUARY 10: A women poses with a bouquet of roses at a flower market on February 10, 2011 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. As Valentine's Day approaches, Chinese people prepare gifts such as flowers and chocolates all over the country for their loved ones.

Hong Kong actress Sammi Cheng, right, and actor Louis Koo pose for photographers before the filming of their new movie "High Altitude Romance II."

Photo taken on Feb. 10, 2011 shows the construction site of the new airport of Kunming, capital of south China's Yunnan Province. The investment of the new airport of Kunming has reached 14.26 billion RMB yuan, 75 percent of the project's total budget. [Xinhua]

Staff members from employment service stations distribute handouts introducing basic information related to jobs at Liuliqiao terminal in Beijing, Feb 10, 2011. Since Feb 9, the first work day after the Spring Festival holiday, such services have been stationed at railway stations and major bus stations in Beijing, to help migrant workers get information about social security and protection of their rights. [Photo/Xinhua]