​​         Chinese Stories in English   

News Translations Published in September 2013

1. Danish Tourist Gets Sick,
2. Body Floats up in Fish Peak Lake
3. Girlfriend Refuses to Open Door, Gets Beaten
4. Homicide in Gubu Shopping Center


5. Court Makes House Call for Divorce
6. Husband Beats Wife, Different Dialects
7. Notes Rain from Sky "Please Call Cops"
8. Scooter Carrying 10,000 in Cash Stolen


Click here to see the Chinese Text for these stories


1. Danish "Wanderer" Gets Sick, Takes Tumble in Dragon City
Tourist Praises Staff of Liuzhou Grand Hotel for Timely Rescue and Kindly Care


Correspondents Yi Qingxin, Lan Yan, Dispatch to the Evening News
      A foreign tourist accidentally stumbled and fell while sightseeing. He was a stranger in a strange land, but was cared for as painstakingly as though he were family. Recently, when he had recuperated and was being discharged from the hospital, the tourist expressed his sincere appreciation to the staff of the Liuzhou Grand Hotel for their exceptional thoughtfulness and caring service.
      The gentleman, whose name is Mr. Paulson, hails from Denmark. Traveling alone, the 62-year-old came to Liuzhou for sightseeing on July 29 and checked into the Liuzhou Grand Hotel on Dragon City Road. As he explored the various scenic spots and the streets and alleys in town, he was full of praise for the idyllic scenery and rich ethnic atmosphere of Liuzhou.
     On the morning of August 23, Mr. Paulson stopped on the way back to the hotel to have a couple of drinks alone. Due to the hot weather and travel fatigue, he accidentally stumbled and fell. His forehead, hands and feet were all injured to varying degrees. When he got back to his hotel room he fell asleep. At 3:00 that afternoon, during routine housekeeping of Mr. Paulson's room, Qiu Lianshou, an attendant from the Guest Services Department, found him lying in bed in poor health with multiple external injuries. She immediately notified the shift supervisor and lobby assistant manager. When the 120 [emergency medical team] arrived, Shift Supervisor Wei Lu and Assistant Manager Xie Wen worked with the medical personnel to get the injured man to the City People's Hospital for treatment.
      A medical examination found that Mr. Paulson's external injuries were caused by a fall. The trauma was accompanied by a cerebral infarction, chronic alcohol poisoning, asthma and other diseases. Because Mr. Paulson was unaccompanied on his trip to Liuzhou and had no friends or relatives here, and because of the language barrier, [management of the] Liuzhou Grand Hotel was very anxious for their guest. They immediately assigned the hotel "Gold Key", Glacier Lü, who is proficient in English, to go to the hospital to look after him and to make the necessary arrangements.
      After careful diagnosis and treatment by the medical personnel, Mr. Paulson's condition gradually stabilized. Due to his age, however, he was temporarily unable to move around on his own, so the hotel Guest Services Department also sent an attendant to the hospital to watch over and take care of him at night.
      Glacier Lü went online to research how to contact the Danish Embassy or Consulate in China, and also communicated with the Liuzhou Immigration Detachment, so as to get in touch with the Paulson family as soon as possible. She finally connected with the Danish Embassy. The embassy staff phoned Mr. Paulson and, after finding out the relevant details, praised and expressed gratitude to the Liuzhou Grand Hotel for providing timely and thoroughgoing assistance to its Danish guest.
      Early next morning the Manager of the hotel Guest Services Division, Wang Jun, and Glacier Lü brought breakfast and a fruit basket to the hospital. They were worried that Mr. Paulson was not accustomed to hospital food, so they had made a special trip to the Western Restaurant at the Grand Regency Hotel [an affiliate of the Liuzhou Grand] to have a delicious meal prepared for him. They also sent him towels, clothes, a wash basin and other daily necessities. Every day for the next several days, the Liuzhou Grand Guest Services Department sent someone to the hospital to watch over and take care of him.
     Mr. Paulson was gradually restored to health under the attentive care of the medical personnel and the hotel staff. He is very grateful to the staff of the Liuzhou Grand Hotel for their attentive service, and for making him feel at home. He praised the "beautiful scenery in Liuzhou, and the even more beautiful people", and said he will be going home a few days after he is discharged from the hospital. He believes that his trip to Liuzhou was an "unforgettable journey"!
​[Fannyi's comment – A student of Chinese journalism might well ask, "Why did the newspaper editors feel that this story was worth publishing?" The answer can be found by comparing what the article does not say and what it does.
      Among other things the article does not: describe the circumstances of the slip and fall incident; indicate the extent of the trauma; state whether Paulson received treatment for the other problems discovered by the doctors; reveal how long Paulson was in the hospital; define what a hotel "Gold Key" is; disclose whether the hotel continued to charge Paulson for his room while he was in the hospital; divulge whether he was charged for the "exceptional thoughtfulness"; or tell us whether anyone was able to contact Paulson's friends or family.
      The article does tell us, five times (counting the headline), that China was "praised" by a Westerner, which was the obvious focal point of the story. Does anyone know how to say "collective inferiority complex" in Chinese?
​]

Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-08-27, p. 8
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2. Body of Man, 30-ish, Floats up in Fish Peak Lake
Wearing Black and White Striped T-Shirt and Dark Colored ¾-Length Pants


Reporter Zheng Kai, Correspondent Liu Jiangnan, Dispatch to the Evening News
      Yesterday morning, several elderly persons doing their morning exercises in Fish Peak Park saw large clump of debris floating in the park's Little Dragon Pond. Only when the daylight increased did they notice that the "debris" was actually a floating corpse.
      "Somebody's drowned!" At 5:00 o'clock yesterday morning, officers at the Fish Peak Police Kiosk received the report. They quickly rushed to the scene and pulled the floating corpse to the shore. The deceased, a male, wearing a black and white T-shirt with dark-colored ¾-length pants, looked to be about 30 years old. On the shore, a discarded wallet and bank cards were scattered on the ground.
      The person who had called the police, Ms. Cai, said that when they came to do their morning exercises, they saw a large black shadow on the water, but they couldn't tell what it was because it was still dark out. They only realized it was a person floating on the water when it got lighter, and then called the police right away. "Maybe he fell in during the night." People nearby said that, during the day, there are always people coming and going through the area and someone certainly would have seen if anyone had fallen in.
      Later a forensic investigator performed a preliminary examination of the deceased. There was no obvious trauma on the body. He had a Guilin to Baise ticket in his pocket, but no other evidence of identity.
      At present, the case has been referred for further processing to the police precinct having jurisdiction.

Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-08-30, p. 15
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3. Girlfriend Refuses to Open Door, Gets Beaten
Police Rush Over to Stop Drunk Boyfriend


Reporter Kong Defang, Correspondent Huang Wei, Dispatch to the Evening News
      After 10:00 p.m. on the 19th, officers at the Liushi Road Police Affairs Kiosk received a call saying that a woman had been kidnapped on Honor the Army Road. They hurried to the scene only to find that it was a man dragging his girlfriend to open the door. The girlfriend didn't want to and therefore had called the police.
      "Come quick, there's a woman been kidnapped at the Dragon's Gate Hotel on Honor the Army Road!" At 10:47 that evening, after the Liushi Road Police Affairs Kiosk received the woman's call, [officers] rushed there quickly but saw no one.
    By this time, the woman had called the police several more times urging them to hurry up. "Where the heck is she?" Police had to ask several times before the woman, who was gasping for breath, said she was nearby in the Three Harmonies Gourmet City. The Officers got there quickly and found a man in a tugging match with two women.
      "What's going on with you people?" As soon as the officers asked the question, the man immediately dropped his hands.
      It turned out that Little Bell, the woman who had been kidnapped, Ah Feng [the other woman], and the man Ah-Zheng are each aged 42. They had come to Liuzhou together from out of town to look for work. Ah-Zheng and Little Bell both got jobs at a factory on South Ring Road. They started to get close and lived together for a time. Ah-Zheng was divorced but Little Bell still had a husband. As time went by she started to feel more and more guilty, and she gradually drifted away from Ah-Zheng.
      On the night in question, a friend asked the three of them out for a drink. They all got a little tipsy as they drank. Ah-Zheng, under the influence, tried to drag Little Bell to open her room. "Little Bell didn't want to, so he hit her and dragged her straight over to the hotel. I couldn't hold him, so all I could do was call the police," Ah-Feng said.
      The officers proceeded to criticize and educate Ah-Zheng with respect to his improper conduct. After some patient persuasion, he guaranteed that he would never again harass Little Bell.

Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-08-21, p. 6
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4. Gubu Homicide
Latest Police News


      At about 4:00 p.m. on August 29, a homicide occurred in the food court at Gubu Street International Shopping City. Through the efforts of the Liuzhou Police that very night, attention quickly focused on the suspected criminal. Today (August 30) at about 4:00 a.m., the suspected criminal Mr. Lu was arrested. Investigation determined that Mr. Lu, aged 30 this year, is an unemployed man from Liuzhou. The investigation is still proceeding.
      Internet Users Report: Today when I was out taking care of some business, maybe 4 o'clock or so, I saw the 120 [Emergency Medical Team] arrive at the scene – blood all over the place, at first I thought there'd been an accident at a construction site off to the side. But according to an eyewitness report, it was a robbery, a middle-aged couple was eating at Broad and Elegant Wonton in the Gubu Street [above ground] food court, someone grabbed a bag, a struggle ensued and the man was stabbed with a knife. I don't know if he wanted to chase the robber or whatever, but there were bloodstains from the parking lot entrance on the river dyke side of the food court to the Gubu Street parking lot exit (the incident happened at the entrance) – If the incident was really as the eyewitness said, the hoodlum was too savage, injuring someone in a fight over a bag. I don't know if they got the hoodlum yet. Everyone should be careful when outside the home –
      [Fannyi – This report is from a government-run news website. There has also been some discussion in an internet chat room, but we have been unable to find any report of the incident in the local newspapers. (The reporters may have been too busy with the story about a Danish tourist lavishing praise on the Liuzhou Grand Hotel.)
      The rumor mill has it that the victim was 60 years old and had retired two months ago. He and his wife had just withdrawn a sum of money from a nearby bank. The robber presumably saw them at the bank and followed them to the food court.
​]

lznews.gov

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5. Court Makes House Call for Disabled Man's Divorce
Harmonious Divorce Facilitated by Mediation, Reducing Harm to Minor Child


Correspondent Peng Xiatan, Star Reporter Li Lan, Dispatch to the Evening News

      When A-Lian wanted to divorce her disabled husband, A-Dong, child support issues became the focus of the dispute. Recently, in order to give their child a peaceful and stable environment while growing up, and exemplifying the people's feelings regarding the administration of justice, the Liu River County People's Court made a house call to conduct a special session, and resolved the dispute for the parties through mediation.
      After accepting the case, the judge who organized the house call discovered that A-Dong is disabled. In order to better understand the details of the case and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the disabled party, the presiding judge first interviewed neighbors and people in the community for an objective view of the parties' actual situation. He then phoned A-Dong for his version.
      It turned out that A-Lian and A-Dong had obtained their marriage license in March 2007. Their daughter, who was born in June of that year and is now just six years old, lives with A-Dong. While their daughter's birth brought joy to both of them, it also brought stress into their life. The couple often quarreled over household chores and began to feel increasingly indifferent toward each other.
      In early 2009, A-Lian was overwhelmed. She left home, got a job, and formally separated from A-Dong, coming home to visit her daughter only on holidays. Misfortune struck the family in 2011 when A-Dong became physically disabled due to a car accident and lost the ability to work. Fortunately, he was able to ride out the storm with help from his parents and sisters and is now able to take care of himself.
      Due to their long separation, A-Dong also felt that their marriage existed in name only. Little remained of their former conjugal feelings and he agreed to a divorce. However, the couple has been unable to come to an agreement regarding child support issues.
      After obtaining a detailed understanding of the situation, and considering A-Dong's difficulty in traveling, the judge decided to go to his home to hold the court session.
      There were some special arrangements for this trial. There was no bench for the judge or tables for the defendant and others. The judge, court clerk, A-Lian, and A-Dong, as well as their friends and relatives, sat on stools placed in a circle to form a "simplified court". The judge opened the hearing in accordance with legal procedures.
      During the trial, the judge first initiated the mediation with a free-style discussion among the parties and their families. He learned that neither A-Lian nor A-Dong have stable incomes. However, A-Dong has more siblings who indicated they are willing to help raise the child, while A-Lian thinks she may want to start another family. The judge believed that it would be better for the child's education and development if she lives with A-Dong.
      In the room where the trial was in progress, the couple's daughter flew back and forth like a carefree butterfly between her father's arms and her mother's and her other relatives, too young to understand what was happening.
      Seeing this, the presiding judge strengthened his resolve to mediate this case [successfully], to be sure to minimize the damage to the child caused by her parents' divorce.
      A large part of the judge's mediation was directed to the question of the child's healthy development. In the end, under the judge's patient mediation, the parties agreed to an uncontested divorce. The child is to live with A-Dong, and A-Lian can visit at any time, creating a harmonious and happy family atmosphere for the child to the extent possible.

Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-07-30, p. 11
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6. Husband Beats Wife Who Wants to Strangle Son
Cause of Marital Strife Is Different Regional Dialects
Wife Couldn't Communicate with Mother-In-Law


Reporter Xiao Jun, Intern Tu Junlan, Correspondent Lai Shiming, Dispatch to the Evening News
      Everyone says that even wild animals take care of their own offspring, so Mr. Zhang couldn't imagine that his wife, Ms. Yang, would actually want to strangle their biological son, a baby only six months old.
      In a fit of rage, Mr. Zhang beat up his wife to put a stop to her absurd behavior. Ms. Yang, in intense and incessant pain, had no choice but to call the police for help. Surprisingly, the police investigation revealed that the source of the marital discord was the "differing accents" of the wife and her mother-in-law. The good news is that, after patient mediation by the police, the family is again living in harmony.
      On July 25 at about 4:00 p.m., the New City Precinct received Ms. Yang's call complaining that her husband had hit her. An officer rushed to the location, and Ms. Yang tearfully complained: "He was violent to me and kept hitting my head." When the officer asked Mr. Zhang why he had beat his wife, he became very emotional: "You tell me whether I should've hit her. She was trying to strangle our son, who's only six months old!" They say even wild animals take care of their own offspring. The boy is her biological son, so why would she want to do such a ruthless thing? The officer was bewildered, but he investigated and learned the whole story.
      Mr. Zhang is originally from the town of Yulin [about 100 km. south of Liuzhou], while Ms. Yang is from Shaanxi Province [about 1,000 km. north]. They are a "post-80s" couple [i.e., born after the 1980s, implying a lack of life experience] who settled in Liuzhou shortly after getting married. Before long Ms. Yang added a grandson to the Zhang family. Mr. Zhang's mother was quite happy about that and traveled to Liuzhou from the family home in the countryside especially to take care of the child. But she is from a rural area and not well educated, and also can't speak the National Language [
Mandarin]. She and her daughter-in-law thus could not communicate with one another, which often caused quarrels. When speaking to Mr. Zhang, Grandma ordinarily conversed in their local dialect, while Ms. Yang ordinarily conversed with him in Shaanxi-accented Mandarin. Grandma couldn't understand her son's conversations with Ms. Yang and Ms. Yang couldn't understand her husband's conversations with his mother, leading to conflicts. Grandma thought Ms. Yang was intentionally conversing with Mr. Zhang in language she couldn't understand so she could plot against her. Ms. Yang thought Grandma was using the native dialect to say bad things about her, and to goad Mr. Zhang into ignoring her. Over time, resentment piled up between Ms. Yang and Grandma. A few days previously, after the two had had a huge argument, Grandma angrily packed up and went back home to Yulin. Mr. Zhang was quite angry with his wife for driving his mother away.
      On the afternoon of July 25, the couple was in a non-stop quarrel because of this. Mr. Zhang was so upset that he wanted to beat Ms. Yang, and she went so far as to use their son to threaten him. "If you beat me, I'll strangle your son." As she said that, she ran into the other room and reached out to snatch up the 6-month baby sleeping on the bed. Mr. Zhang saw what was happening and hurried over to stop her from doing anything. He pulled her into the living room and slapped her several times. Only then did Ms. Yang, in intense and incessant pain, call the police for help.
      After learning what had transpired, the police officer counseled to the two of them to make them see reason: "Whenever there's a problem in the marriage, you need to talk it through. Don't play games with your son's life. You can have a good life only if there's harmony at home." Hearing the officer's words of wisdom, Mr. Zhang realized his mistake and took the initiative to apologize to Ms. Yang. Ms. Yang also realized what she had done wrong. While the officer was still there she phoned Grandma at her home in Yulin and apologized. She sincerely invited Grandma to come back to Liuzhou.

Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-07-27, p. 6
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7. Notes Raining from Sky "Please Call Cops"
Police Approach Stealthily, Arrest "Peeping Tom" With Mirror at Scene


Reporter Zheng Kai, Correspondent Yin Shiyu, Dispatch to the Evening News
      Yesterday morning, as a woman was passing below a private residential building in the Cultural District [Shopping Area] on Peace Road, a piece of paper suddenly fell from the sky requesting the help of passers-by in calling the police. What had happened upstairs in this building? It turns out that when building resident Ms. Tan was out on her balcony doing something, a beam of light suddenly struck her eye. She looked toward the source of the light and saw a pole sticking out from the stairwell. A mirror from an electric scooter was tied to the pole and was directed toward the front of her neighbor's balcony. Miss Qin quietly leaned out to look [into the stairwell] and saw a man with his attention focused on the mirror, snooping on things in her neighbor's home.
      Seeing this reminded Miss Qin that her cell phone had been stolen from her neighbor's home not long ago. She promptly took out her [new] phone to call the police, but before dialing the number it occurred to her that she was quite near the man and her voice might alert him. She had the bright idea to write a few notes and throw them down toward the pedestrians below.
      One of the notes happened to come down in front of a woman. She picked up the piece of paper and read it, then looked up to see Miss Qin gesturing "110" [the police emergency number]. She made up her mind to call the police.
      Officers from the West Ring Road Police Kiosk soon arrived on the scene.
      A man wearing only underpants and a shirt hemmed and hawed when the officers questioned him. For a long time he couldn't utter a complete sentence. Later the police found a Xiaomi brand phone in his home. "That must be the phone that was stolen from me," Miss Qin exclaimed when she saw it. She went home and got the relevant receipts and, when compared with the various serial numbers on the phone, they were indeed an exact match.
      According to his confession, the man's surname is Bao. He is 30 years old and lives on the 5th floor of that same building. Earlier he had seen a key stuck in Miss Qin's neighbor's door, so he took it and made a copy, then secretly inserted it back in the door.
      Thereafter on two occasions, in July and August, he had opened the door and waltzed into the victim's home. He stole two mobile phones worth nearly 5,000 Yuan [≈$820]. He resold one but kept Miss Qin's Xiaomi phone for his own use. Yesterday morning, he wanted to have another snack on "the grass near the nest" but found the lock had been changed, so he made a tool to snoop out what was happening in the victim's home. He didn't expect that Miss Qin would notice him and alert the police so creatively.
      At this time, Mr. Bao is being held in criminal detention.

Liuzhou Evening News, 2013-09-14, p. 5
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8. E-Scooter Carrying Ten Thousand in Cash Stolen
Patrol Officers Catch Thief in 15 Minutes


Dispatch to TSC from Liuzhou (Reporter Zhong Hua, Correspondent Li Gang)
      Yesterday afternoon the Cock's Crow Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Liuzhou Public Security Bureau returned to Ms. Bin a brand new electric scooter and ten thousand Yuan in cash [≈$1,640] that had been stolen from her two days previously, and she gave a letter of appreciation to the police. Thanks to two patrol officers who chased after and captured the robber at the time of the incident, her belongings had been recovered 15 minutes after the robbery.
      At about 9:00 p.m. on September 7, in a small street-side playground near the five-way intersection on Liushi Road, the 47-year-old Ms. Bin parked her electric scooter beside a vendor selling herbal medicines. She stood on the right side of the scooter listening to the vendor describe the herbs. Since the scooter was in her sight, Ms. Bin only turned off the ignition switch and did not remove the key.
      After two or three minutes, a man suddenly jumped onto Ms. Bin's scooter, turned the key to switch on the motor, and made his getaway by speedily driving south along Liushi Road. When Ms. Bin came to her senses, she ran after him, shouting for help.
      The scooter only cost Ms. Penn 2,500 Yuan, but her purse was under the seat. In the purse was at least ten thousand Yuan in cash, three bank cards each reflecting deposits of tens of thousands more, and Ms. Bin's ID card. Ms. Bin fell to the ground twice while chasing the thief in desperation. When she stood up again, she had lost sight of her scooter. A sympathetic passer-by lent her a cell phone to call the emergency number 110.
      Pan Zhiming, a plainclothes officer from the Fish Peak Undercover Patrol, and Li Wentian, from the Cock's Crow Criminal Investigation Brigade, were heading home along the same road just as Ms. Bin's scooter was being stolen. They heard her screams as they passed near the playground, riding on one motorcycle, and saw the suspected thief fleeing on an electric scooter.
      The two patrol officers drove on their motorcycle in hot pursuit. After the man who stole the scooter had driven it over 500 meters, he saw that that the motorcycle was going to catch up to him, so he drove into a small alley, threw the scooter to the ground and ran into a residential building. Pan Zhiming stayed by the stolen scooter to guard it, while Li Wentian followed [the thief into the building and] up the stairs. The suspect male ran out of places to flee on the roof and was taken into custody.
      Patrol officers from the 110 [Emergency Unit] rushed to the scene of the crime quickly upon receipt of Ms. Bin's call. News that the stolen vehicle had been recovered reached the scene after 15 minutes.
      Ms. Bin saw her stolen scooter as soon as she got out of the police car at the Cock's Crow Criminal Investigation Brigade Station. Officers verified and confirmed that valuables in the scooter were Ms. Bin's. The vehicle was recovered in such timely fashion that none of her belongings had been lost.
      Investigation revealed that the arrested man was a Mr. Tan (age 42, from High Town in Liu River County). He had been incarcerated twice for theft but is still a drug addict. According to his confession, he had smoked crystal meth before stealing the scooter.
      Currently, Mr. Tan has been placed in criminal detention by the Fish Peak police on suspicion of robbery.

Today's South China, 2013-09-10, p.6



Chinese text available here.