Kids compete in cross-Straits drawing
SIX-year-old Wu Ye, who has a pencil behind her right ear, is attentively drawing the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong's riverside park along the east bank of Huangpu River.
Diamond plan
DIAMONDS, which have graced the necklaces of the late Princess Diana, US First Lady Hillary Clinton and Kate Winslet in blockbuster film "Titanic," are proving increasingly popular with China's consumers as earnings rise, especially in Shanghai.
Shipping soup in Shanghai
LAST week was a tough week to get through any year. You must, like Caesar, beware the Ides of March (15) and either proclaim your ethnic origins or become honourary Irish for a day on St Patrick's Day (17). In Shanghai, you also have to cope with the fickle March weather.
Chess master makes first move on-line
JOINTLY sponsored by Shanghai Chess Association and Shanghai Lotof Network Information Technology Co Ltd, a long-running chess match at www.lotof.com on the web was kicked off on Saturday.
Tourism development at top of agenda
SHANGHAI plans to transform itself into an international tourist metropolis by 2015, according to Zhou Muyao, vice-mayor of Shanghai. Zhou was speaking at the city's first tourism working conference which closed on Sunday.
Campaign to prevent polio comeback
AN incidence of polio (also known as infantile paralysis) in October in Northwest China's Qinghai Province has prompted a warning from experts that children from abroad must be vaccinated against the disease either before or soon after they come to Shanghai.
Women seek access to legal consultation
A 50-YEAR-OLD woman says tearfully she has sued for divorce four times over the past nine years, but she has been denied each time over property disputes.
Controversy over keeping city wall
SHANGHAI city wall was built in a matter of months in 1553 to repel Japanese pirates, but it took more than 10 years to demolish it.
Students broaden horizons overseas
PHOTOGRAPHS of Chinese high-fliers who studied in Britain adorned the entrance to the British Education Exhibition 2000, held two weeks ago in Shanghai.
Robbers ring up call-girls
A BOOK described as a "goldmine" by a debtor, because it listed the telephone numbers of call-girls, brought two men suspected of robbing four prostitutes before the Yangpu District Procuratorate recently.
Court fines nose biter $348
HONGKOU District Court has ordered a 38-year-old man named Liu who bit a bus driver's nose with such force that it required seven stitches to close the wound to pay 2,884 yuan ($348) in medical expenses and damages.
Rush to wed breeds crime
By Xue Dong
THE proverb "marry in haste repent at leisure" took on a whole new meaning for two Shanghai residents recently. Yangpu District Procuratorate handled two cases involving two suspects who turned to crime because they were too eager to get married. In one case Fan Wei, a temporary employee at a bathhouse in Shanghai, got steamed up over wedding his girl friend this year. He had spent all his savings in buying a house, only to find he could not afford to decorate it. What's more, he felt pressured by the local customs which encourage extravagance in wedding ceremonies. In his despair, Fan turned to stealing money from the customers of the bathhouse. During the January to February period, Fan had stolen 7,500 yuan ($906) over 10 occasions. He committed the thefts from the storage closets where he dipped into the pockets of the bathers' clothes. Most of the bathers were unaware of the thefts because he only stole a portion of money each time. But he stole 5,000 yuan ($604) on one occasion and was caught following police investigation. All the stolen money had been recovered because Fan had put it in a bank. In a separate case, 45-year-old Lin Wenyu's fiery passion over matrimony ended up in an attempted murder-suicide tryst with one of his leaders. Investigations revealed Lin was a laid-off worker from a textile factory and he had remained single over the years. Lin blamed his unwed state on the policy that houses would only be given to married couples. On February 24, Lin bought four cartons of gasoline from a gas station and went to the office of the chairman of the factory trade union who was responsible for drawing up policies for the allocation of houses. There he decided to die a common death with the leader because of the grudge he bore against her. Just as he was about to start the fire, several employees near the office rushed him and got rid of the fire-starters and cartons of gasoline. Lin was prosecuted at the prosecuratorate recently.
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.