Pulse

Around Beijing

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-09 08:02

Court

Boozer jailed for kicking Ferrari

A drunken woman who damaged a sports car in the city's Sanlitun area has been sentenced to five months in detention.

Chaoyang district court heard that the defendant, Chen, kicked the black Ferrari "for no reason" at 2 am on Jan 3 after drinking at a bar close to the Workers' Stadium.

The car owner claimed the attack cost almost 35,000 yuan to repair.

Chen received a lenient penalty after she confessed to the charge of willfully damaging another person's property. She also paid the car owner compensation.

Crime

Duty-free thieves snared at airport

A couple who stole thousands of yuan's worth of cosmetics from a duty-free shop at Beijing Capital International Airport before fleeing the country have been detained by police.

The suspects, both are Chinese with Spanish citizenship, were caught on closed-circuit cameras hiding makeup supplies in the woman's overcoat two weeks ago, shortly before they boarded a flight to Madrid, Beijing Morning Post reported on Sunday.

After identifying the duo, police lay in wait and detained them when their return flight landed in the capital. Both suspects have confessed, police said.

Health

Childcare hotline offers medical aid

A free national emergency hotline aimed at helping children in danger - 400-004-9958 - was launched on Saturday.

Operated by the China Charities Aid Foundation for Children, the hotline will offer medical assistance to youngsters in distress, including those suffering serious illnesses, those abused or forced to beg, and those affected by natural disasters, the Qinglong news website reported.

At least 10 diseases and injuries will be covered by the service, and phones will be manned 24 hours a day.

Community

Volunteer cinema for sight impaired

The first cinema in Beijing specially designed for the visually impaired opened on Saturday in Xicheng district.

About 100 people with impaired sight enjoyed scenes from the movie The Legend of 1900 during the launch ceremony with the help of more than 10 famous actors and hosts, who described the action on the screen using the script, Beijing Morning Post reported.

Xicheng officials said the cinema will screen five movies a year free to about 5,000 visually impaired people. All the storytellers will be volunteers.

Community

Skill competition for workers

All workers in Beijing can register for the second session of a competition of occupational skills between May 10 and June 25.

The competition, which is organized by the municipal federation of trade unions, will run 32 events, covering occupational skills in many industries, such as motor vehicles, catering and creative industries. The competition will go through several rounds and the finals will be held in September and October.

According to the labor authority, there are 2.23 million skilled workers in Beijing.

Culture

Tribute to India's great writer Tagore

A memorial assembly to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Indian poet Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was held at the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) on Saturday.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Indian Ambassador to China S. Jaishankar gave keynote speeches. More than 100 cultural and art celebrities attended the meeting.

At the meeting, a book show featuring Tagore's works was presented by several publishing houses to mark his accomplishments in literature, philosophy and education.

Culture

Ex-president Bush at charity auction

A charity auction of Chinese artworks will be held in Beijing in August, and one of the invited guests will be former US President George W. Bush.

The China National Treasures International Tour will hold an exhibition of about 500 Chinese artworks, which are owned by Wang Yang, a noted Tianjin art collector. And 40 works will be auctioned on Aug 20 and the fund will be donated to charity organizations, said Yu Lirong, the event organizer, on Sunday.

After the auction, the rest of the exhibits will go on an international tour, first to the US, and later possibly to Britain and Italy.

(China Daily 05/09/2011)