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1. One Bureau Sets Up 8 Offices
[Front Page]
Eight identical signs are hanging in the Residential Construction Bureau of Liu River County,
two with the word "Office" written in large characters, and 6 with the words "Administrative
Office", also in large characters. When residents coming in on business are unable to find
the office to conduct the business, won't they feel incredulous and not know where to go?
One Bureau Sets Up 8 Offices
Bureau Displays 8 Identical Signs w/o Explanation
[Page 3]
Reporters Li Shuhou and Lee Hanchi, Dispatch to the Evening News
"One Bureau, but with 8 offices." Yesterday we came upon 8 signs at an office. This would
not only make residents coming in to do business unable to find the department which does
that business, but would also mystify them: What does one Bureau need with so many
offices? The Liu River County Residential Construction Bureau is located on the fourth floor
of the Liu River County Residential Construction Building and occupies the entire floor. Your reporters saw that, except for a large conference room and a bookkeeping section, the entire floor is offices, 8 in total. Two of them display signs saying "Office" in large characters, and the other 6 display signs saying "Administrative Office," also in large characters.
If one Bureau has 8 offices, doesn't that violate the spirit of the State Council's demand to simplify organizations and decrease personnel? If they're displaying office signs but aren't offices, what's the explanation?
[See follow-up story on this page, story #5 below.]
Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-04-12, pp. 1 and 3
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2. Prods Customers to Trade "Pearls" for "Fish Eyes"
"Double Dealer" Starts Con, Falls into Old Man's Hands
Reporter Xiao Jun, Correspondent Peng Xiaohong
Dispatch to the Evening News – With no money to spend, Old Tian couldn't resist doing something to "change" a few bills. He'd spent time in jail for doing that last year, but one forgets the pain once the wound is healed. Besides, what's a little pain when it comes to "money"?
Everyone's heard again and again of the method Old Tian uses to change money. It's called "ghost hand" that is, sleight of hand, using deception and taking advantage of people's inattention to switch counterfeit bills for real money. But Old Tian doesn't work out of a fixed location; he utilizes the seemingly "safe" methods of guerilla warfare to practice his "ghost hand".
At noon on the 17th, Old Tian went on patrol to the train station where he set his sights on Mr. Heh and his wife, who had just gotten off a train and were on their way to get tickets for Rongshui, the Miao Minority Autonomous County. Old Tian went up and greeted them. "Where are you going, my friend?" When Mr. Heh gave him a straightforward answer, Old Tian said they'd be better off taking his bus. It would be cheaper going to the bus depot, only 35 Yuan [≈$5.65] per person. Mr. Heh and his wife believed that really was cheaper, so they got into a three-wheeler with Old Tian.
Old Tian started his act as soon as they got on the cart. First, he made a fake telephone call: "I have two passengers here. Save two spaces, I've already issued the tickets. When he hung up he turned to the couple to collect the money. Mr. Heh indicated he would pay when they got on the bus, and Old Tian said, "If you go back on our deal, you've wasted my time." Mr. Heh is a conscientious fellow, and when he heard Old Tian say that, he pulled out a hundred-yuan note and handed it to him.
Old Tian took out a book of tickets he had with him and tore off two to give to the Hehs. "These tickets haven't been stamped, and they don't say what bus they're for. Will they be accepted when we go to use them?" Mr. Heh asked suspiciously. Old Tian said they were valid, but Mr. Heh didn't feel right about them and demanded official tickets. This was the opportunity Old Tian had been waiting for. He pretended to get mad and said, "I'm not going to do business with you." Then he shoved a hundred-Yuan note at Mr. Heh and told him to get out of the cart.
The bill Old Tian shoved at Mr. Heh in the last act of this little play was counterfeit. This was his "ghost hand" stratagem, uncomplicated but time-tested. Old Tian thought he'd done it so sneakily this time that no one could have noticed, and he was smug enough to go back to the train station to try it again. Unbeknownst to him, officers from the South Station Police Precinct had been alerted, and it wasn't long before they arrived and arrested him on the spot. It turns out that Mr. Heh had felt something was fishy when he got out of the cart. He took a close look at that hundred-Yuan note, discovered it was a phony and realized he was the victim of a "ghost hand ". Not reconciled to his loss, he tried going back to the train station to find Old Tian. Sure enough, greedy Old Tian was still there looking for the next fool with money.
As a result of the investigation Old Tian, 48, a Liuzhou resident, has a legally authorized 10-day administrative detention waiting for him.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-04-20, p. 11
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3. Woman Cut During Manicure Fears Infection
Owner Calm: Offers 5 Yuan Discount
Reporter Kong Defang, Dispatch to the Evening News
These days a lot of pretty girls like to arm themselves with beautiful nails. Yesterday during the noon hour, though, a pretty girl named Little Sun was getting a manicure when the manicurist cut one of her fingers with scissors deep enough to draw blood. And yet, the manicurist didn't offer a word of apology, but reacted by casually saying, "I'll knock 5 Yuan [≈$0.81] off the bill."
Yesterday a little after 1:00 p.m., Little Sun came to a manicurist on Reflection Street to begin a nail treatment. Little Sun's full attention was devoted to watching the shop's TV while the manicurist Ms. Wu prepped her nails and started to trim them. "Ow!" Little Sun suddenly felt a sharp pain. She looked and saw that Ms. Wu was using sharp clippers to cut the dead skin from around her fingernail. Perhaps she had used too much force. Little Sun wasn't injured, so she didn't say anything to Ms. Wu except to tell her to take it easy.
Afterwards Ms. Wu cut Little Sun several more times, and Little Sun called it to her attention again and again. Ms. Wu kept saying OK, but before long she cut into Little Sun's flesh while trimming dead skin from around the root of the nail on the ring finger of her left hand. Dark red blood immediately flowed out from the cut. Ms. Sun wiped it with tissue paper several times but the flow didn't stop because the wound was fairly deep.
"It's nothing," Ms. Wu said indifferently when she saw what she'd done. "I'll just knock 5 Yuan off the bill!" It was because Little Sun had a hangnail, and [Ms. Wu] had accidently sliced her finger when she tried to take care of it. Besides, all the shop's manicuring tools were disinfected, so it was just a cut and not a big deal.
"You use these utensils on everyone, and with so many people, I'm afraid [a cut deep enough to cause] bleeding isn't very sanitary." At first Little Sun wasn't going to bother about it, but she became somewhat resentful when she saw that Ms. Wu not only didn't apologize, but was treating the matter so lightly. In addition she had seen news reports about people contracting AIDS from being injured and bleeding while getting their hair cut. She was worried she might be unlucky enough to "stop a bullet". The two women couldn't come to an agreement, so Little Sun called the Evening News 282-1100 Hotline for help.
Your reporter rushed to the scene and saw that Little Sun had suffered a small scissor cut at the root of [the nail on] her ring finger. Blood would flow when a small amount of pressure was applied. Little Sun indicated that she really didn't want any compensation, she just hoped Ms. Wu would accompany her to the hospital for an examination. Ms. Wu agreed to do so after mediation by your reporter.
Your reporter went with the two women to the City Red Cross Hospital. After examining Little Sun's wound, a doctor indicated that the AIDS virus can not normally survive in air. It can only be transmitted by infected blood or bodily fluids directly entering another person's body. Thus, the possibility that Little Sun had been infected with AIDS was quite small.
But because she had been injured by an iron implement, she could easily have been infected by the tetanus virus, so she would need a shot of the tetanus vaccine. If she's still worried, she can take her ID card to the City Center for Disease Control and Prevention and have an AIDS examination.
Finally, the doctor also treated Little Sun's wound. Ms. Wu paid the doctor's fee and canceled the bill for Little Sun's manicure. Little Sun also saved Ms. Wu's phone number in case she might need it, but she hoped she would never have to call it.
Your reporter has learned from the 12315 Hotline for Reporting Consumer Complaints that disputes arising from manicures are being seen more often this year. Manicuring is a rather unique craft, simultaneously creating beauty along with relatively large physical harm. On the one hand, because of problems in technique, a manicure may injure the original nail. Secondly, if the body absorbs low quality nail polishes, the respiratory tract may also be harmed.
Therefore, when getting a manicure, consumers should select a merchant using relatively good brands and having a good reputation. It is best to arrange relevant matters in advance. Demand that the merchant provide compensation for any adverse reaction.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-04-20, p. 11
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4. Rotten Driving Skills, Hits Stump
Wife Asks Men to Beat Husband
Smashing Up Borrowed Car Causes Craziness
Synopsis
"Help, Police, I'm at home, and some men ganged up on me and beat me!" Mr. Lu phoned for help on the evening of the 19th. After receiving the call, police from the Arrow Mountain Precinct rushed to where the incident had occurred to investigate. What they learned astonished them – surprisingly, the men who had ganged up on and beaten Mr. Lu were friends who had been summoned by his wife, Ms. Fang. "He made me so mad. He screwed up and wouldn't admit his mistake, and not only that, he tried to hold me responsible for it. It was me that got these guys to teach him a lesson!" What on earth what did Mr. Lu do to make his wife angry enough to have people gang up on him and beat him?
Reporter Xiao Jun, Intern Tu Junlan, Special Correspondent Zhou Liuning
On the evening of the 19th Mr. Lu, who resides in a certain community on Arrow Mountain Road, called the police claiming that 6 men had ganged up on him and beaten him at home. When officers arrived at the scene, the men who had ganged up on and beaten Mr. Lu had already left. Several areas on Mr. Lu's face and hands were bruised and he was bleeding. "Why did they beat you?" Under questioning by the officers, Mr. Lu mumbled and couldn't say what the reason was, but he kept looking over at his wife. "It was me that got them to beat him," Ms. Fang blurted out in a fit of anger, "and he knows without a doubt what he did wrong!" The officers then opened an investigation to find out exactly what had happened.
They learned that on the morning of the 12th, Ms. Fang and Mr. Lu were planning a trip outside town. Ms. Fang wanted to experience the pleasures of a tour by car, so she asked to borrow a small black sedan that her good friend Ms. Deng had just purchased. She agreed with her friend to return the car after one week. Ms. Fang and Mr. Lu came home from their out-of-town trip on the morning of the 18th. Since they were completely exhausted, Ms. Fang decided to rest up a day before returning the car, so they parked it below their condo. Late on the 19th, Ms. Fang phoned the car's owner Ms. Deng to tell her to come and get the car. When Ms. Deng saw a large dent on the left front of her beloved car, she was hurt and angry and demanded that Ms. Fang pay for the repairs.
Ms. Fang went back inside her home feeling depressed. She noticed that her husband, Mr. Lu, had an ugly expression on his face, as though he were concealing something. Under intense questioning from Ms. Fang, Mr. Lu came clean. It seems that his wife had done all the driving during the several days of their trip. He has a driver license, too, but he hasn't grasped a wheel in a long time. Throughout the whole trip his wife wouldn't let him satisfy his craving to drive because, for one thing, she was thinking about safety, and for another, the car belonged to someone else. On the morning of the 18th, taking advantage of the fact that his wife was sound asleep, Mr. Lu snuck the car out and took a friend for a spin near Arrow Mountain. Because his driving skills are rotten, he lost control while turning a corner and the car struck a tree stump alongside the road.
Mr. Lu didn't say anything when he brought the car back because he was afraid his wife would berate him. He thought he could trick her. When Ms. Fang learned the truth, she told Ms. Deng to demand that Mr. Lu pay the cost of repairs. Using the excuse that "my wife handles all the money", Mr. Lu had the gall to repeatedly claim that Ms. Fang was responsible for paying. That was more than Ms. Fang could take, so she got some friends to teach her husband a lesson.
Although it was a preposterous family quarrel, for the sake of their marital tranquility the officers initiated a patient discourse to straighten the couple out. When she cooled down, Ms. Fang decided to forgive her husband and compensate Ms. Deng for the actual costs of repair.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-02-21, p. 10
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5. "Administrative Office" Signs Changed
Follow-Up Story to One Bureau Sets Up 8 Offices
Reporters Li Shuhou and Lee Hanchi
Dispatch to the Evening News – The Liu River County Residential Construction Bureau [LRCRCB] displayed 8 signs reading "Administrative Office" or "Office", but had no signs for the "Bureau Chief" or other leaders' offices. Yesterday's Evening News initiated an exposé of this strange phenomenon under the headline "One Bureau Sets Up 8 Offices". [This page, story #1 above.]This not only generated an enthusiastic discussion among print and internet readers, but also triggered serious consideration by the LRCRCB. The signs were changed as fast as a wildfire that very morning. The former "Administrative Offices" were all changed to leaders' offices, including "Bureau Chief's Office", "Assistant Chief's Office" and others.
Your reporters went back to the LRCRCB yesterday afternoon. At the bottom of the stairway on the first floor, we saw a woman putting a new "Directory of Offices in the LRCRCB Building" in the display window. Your reporters saw that the new building directory clearly noted the locations of the LRCRCB on the fourth and fifth floors. The specific number for the "Bureau Chief's Office" was listed among them.
On a stainless steel sketch map on the first floor your reporters saw that, formerly, large characters for "Bureau Chief's Office", Assistant Chief's Office" and other leaders' offices had been replaced by large characters for "Administrative Office", but traces of the old characters still remained. From this it can be seen that the bureau had previously displayed large character signs for "Bureau Chief's Office", "Assistant Chief's Office" and other leaders' offices [before changing them to "office" and "administrative office" and now changing them back].
On the fourth floor, your reporters saw that the former signs for "Office" and "Administrative Office" had been replaced. Among them the signs for "Administrative Office" had been changed to "Bureau Chief's Office", Assistant Chief's Office" and "Disciplinary Inspection Team Office". Your reporters counted them. Of the former "Offices", today only two "Bureau Offices" remain. On this point Ms. Wu Minhong, Chief of the Disciplinary Inspection Team in this Bureau, said that these signs had been replaced in the morning.
As to why so many "Administrative Office" signs had been displayed before, and why the leaders had all worked in "Administrative Offices", one reason was because the Bureau's offices are currently being reorganized and the reorganization has not been completed; another reason was, because she was a recent hire at this Bureau and the signs had been that way when she came, she also thought it was strange at the time, but later she heard other leaders say that "someone with a knife had come looking for the leaders." Ms. Wu said that, since a Residential Construction Bureau is different than other units, they have to face many petitioners who have "built residences in violation of regulations." Some members of the public don't listen to advice when they come in. First thing out of their mouths is that they want to see a leader. In order to avoid similar issues, "Leader's Offices" displayed signs saying "Administrative Office". But Wu claimed that this had been done "not only for safety". After the revelations in the Evening News, the Bureau felt that the newspaper's investigation was correct, so they'd replaced all the "Administrative Office" signs.
At the same time, this Bureau had also clearly noted the floors and locations it occupies on first floor office directory, and clearly indicated the office numbers of the "Bureau Chief's" and other offices. This was done for the convenience of members of the public who come in to conduct business.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-04-13, p. 4
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6. Man Falls Asleep by Cultural Palace Door
Dies When Gets Up to Go to Toilet
As a security guard at the Liuzhou Railroad Cultural Palace* on Flying Goose Road in Liuzhou, Mr. Zhang occasionally sees drunks who have collapsed and fallen sound asleep near the building. But in the wee hours yesterday morning, he came across a man who, ten minutes after falling asleep on the ground, got up, then fell down again before walking more than a few steps. Feeling that something was wrong, Mr. Zhang called the police.
Just as his shift started in the wee hours yesterday, Mr. Zhang saw a man park his motorbike by the main door of the Cultural Palace. Then, without concern for what others might think, the man lay down on a slope in front of the door and started snoring away. Mr. Zhang wasn't too concerned, because he'd seen drunks sleeping there many times in the past.
Before long, as Mr. Zhang was walking his rounds, an old man suddenly dashed up to him. "The old guy said that a man staggered up while he was exercising and asked him where to find a toilet. The old guy pointed out the way, but before he knew it, the man took a header after walking only two steps." Mr. Zhang therefore immediately rushed to the main door. He saw that the man who had just been sleeping there was lying motionless on the ground a little more than ten meters from where he had originally fallen asleep.
Thinking something was amiss, Zhang called the emergency number 120 right away, and an ambulance arrived within five minutes. The man on the ground had already stopped breathing, however.
The man's ID card, which the officer who came to handle this police matter found on his body, indicated that the man, a Mr. Qing, was 56 years old. The possibility that he was murdered has already been eliminated, but as of now the specific cause of the man's death is still being investigated.
*[I.e., a recreation center. This one was built for railroad employees but more recently has been open to the public -- Fannyi]
Liuzhou Online, 2013-4-6
http://www.liuzhouonline.cn/news/local/1805105.html
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7. Incredibly, Ogre Beats Woman, Kicks Car
Drives Away After Assault, Fishtailing in Bike Lane
Beaten Woman Suffers Multiple Injuries
Reporter Zeng Kai, Dispatch to the Evening News
Yesterday afternoon a startling scene occurred in front of the main gate of the Hopeful Vision of Character community on Liu-Yong Road: as a woman was turning her car into the entry to the community at the front gate, a man driving another car suddenly stopped in the Residents' Only lane and rushed over and violently kicked the woman's vehicle. When the woman got out of her car, the man kicked her and knocked her to the ground. He sat astride the woman's body, grabbed her hair and slammed her head onto the ground and against the car.
After the assault, the man drove away without even closing his vehicle door. He stepped on the gas and fishtailed, speeding the wrong way in a non-motorized vehicle lane. His actions were dangerous to the max.
Crowd Watches, No One Stops Man's Assault
"The guy was beating her so viciously, like he really had a grudge and wanted to kill her!" When your reporter arrived at the scene yesterday at a little after 5 p.m., more than 10 eyewitnesses were discussing what had happened. Eyewitness Mr. Mo said that the incident had occurred at about 4:30. A red Lexus sedan had just turned into the main gate of the Hopeful Vision of Character community. A red Chery QQ followed it in and stopped abruptly in the fast lane. A man over 40 years old got out of the car, rushed over to the Lexus and gave it a flying kick. When the woman driver of the Lexus got out of her car she was savagely attacked by the man. She fell to the ground, but the man didn't stop. Instead, he sat astride the woman's body, grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the ground and against the car.
A woman witness told your reporter that almost a hundred people were circling around the scene when the incident occurred. Many people yelled "Stop, don't hit her," but not one of them stepped forward to stop the man.
Victim Says: Doesn't Know Man Who Assaulted Her
Your reporter then went to the Emergency room at the City Worker's Hospital and saw the victim, Ms. Lu. A large part of the right side of her face was visibly swollen. She had a knot on her forehead and couldn't speak clearly. She told your reporter that she did not know the man and had not had any previous run-in with him. She was incredulous when he suddenly rushed up and assaulted her. When he finished hitting her, he ran back to his car to escape. Ms. Lu, fighting against the pain, ran up to the back seat of the QQ. But just as she was getting into the car, and even before the door was closed, she heard the accelerator roar. She was dragged several hundred meters with one foot hanging outside the door, before she could sit in the car.
"That man was too crazy!" Ms. Lu said that while the door was still open, the man unexpectedly started driving in an "S", trying to throw her out of the car.
They passed 2 intersections with traffic lights before she got a chance to grab the man's shirt collar and forced him to stop the car. But after he stopped, the man grabbed her and pulled her out of the car and threw her to the side of the road. He then drove away abruptly.
Another eyewitness, a Mr. Tan, indicated that the QQ had sped the wrong way down a lane for non-motorized vehicles. Fortunately no vehicles were using it at the time, because they wouldn't have been able to get out of the way.
Ms. Lu's relatives learned from others at the scene that, just before the incident, the man may have been in a collision with another vehicle on the road. The incident occurred when he was trying to get away and Ms. Lu blocked his way as she turned into the community.
At this time police at the Five Li Post Precinct Station have already announced an investigation and eye witnesses have given evidence. A Medical exam revealed that Ms. Lu suffered a cerebral concussion, lung obstruction, and soft tissue injuries in many places on her body. She is being treated at the hospital.
(Miss Xia was awarded 50 Yuan [≈$8.06] for contributing material to this report)
Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-03-16, p. 32
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8. Woman Videoed Going to Bathroom
Kicks Down Door, Nabs "Sex Fiend"
Man Using New Cell Phone Plays Dumb to No Avail
Reporter Kong Defang, Correspondent Tan Fei, Dispatch to the Evening News
A certain Mr. Tan bought a new 8 megapixel cell phone recently, and he set his sights on the women's toilet to experience the phone's formidable photographic capability for himself. In the wee hours yesterday morning, he was arrested by the police for voyeurism.
Ms. Xiong, a young woman who was singing in a karaoke bar in North Liuzhou, left her private room to go to the powder room around midnight yesterday.
She hadn't been in the restroom long when she saw a hand reaching out from under the divider with the next stall, with a brand new smartphone in the video mode recording her going to the bathroom. Who could be so immoral? Ms. Xiong burst out of her stall, yelling. She went to the neighboring stall and told the person to open the door. The person didn't say a word, which infuriated Ms. Xiong. She kicked the door open and saw a man squatting inside. She told him to hand over the phone, but he played dumb, so she simply flicked it right out of his hand. She turned it on to look and, as expected, 4 consecutive videos of her going to the bathroom had been saved in it. When she saw that the man was continuing to play dumb, Ms. Xiong thought it best to call 110 [the police emergency number].
When officers at the Victory Police Kiosk got the report, they immediately rushed to the scene. During the officers' investigation, the man had to admit to his illegal acts. Sources indicate that the man is named Tan and is 20 years old. He had come to the place that day to have some drinks and sing some songs to celebrate a friend's birthday. After he had had quite a bit to drink, he stepped out of the private room to get some air and happened to see Ms. Xiong going into the toilet. He was temporarily overcome by temptation and followed her in. In the stall next to her he took out the 8 megapixel Samsung phone that he had just purchased and began to take video of her private parts. At this time Mr. Tan has been turned over to the Victory Precinct Station for booking.
Liuzhou Evening News, April 1, 2013, p. 4
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1. One Bureau Sets Up 8 Offices
2. Con to Trade "Pearls" for "Fish Eyes"
3. Woman Cut During Manicure Fears Infection
4. Wife Has Husband Beaten for His Bad Driving
News Translations Published in April 2013
5. Follow Up: Office Signs Changed
6. Man Dies by Cultural Palace Door
7. Ogre Beats Woman, Kicks Car
8. Woman Videoed Going to Bathroom
Chinese Stories in English