We use the line “it only happens in India” often as a snide remark and very occasionally to show pride. But going by the strange stories that are often reported from China, the most populous nation in the world could well adopt the phrase just by replacing India’s name.
So, this week, instead of sermonising – though I am certain readers find my blog a joy to read and cherish – I thought I would share some snippets of what I thought were bizarre recent incidents in China and in one case a story in sharp irony.
Controlling in pollution in China – then and now.
The Chinese government is taking many measures and planning a lot more to control pollution in the country. It is pumping in millions of dollars, demolishing excess cement plants, levying fines on polluting factories and trying its best to control the number of vehicles at least in cities like Beijing.
State media is flush with stories on what the government in planning. English newspapers like the China Daily and Global Times – which have also published stories critical of pollution and its impact – have given expectedly a lot of coverage on the government’s anti-pollution plans.
So, it wasn’t really surprising when a photo of a China Daily story began circulating online with the slight cumbersome headline: “Government sets targets for control of pollution”. That’s what the government has been promising, isn’t it? So, why was it being rapidly shared on China’s domestic Twitter-like platforms?
Simple. Because the headline belonged to a China Daily story that was published on April 29 in – wait – 1989.
On that day, 25 years ago, government’s plans to target pollution made it to the top of the stories on page 1. The good thing to know is that it still often does.
Photo of the newspaper clipping. (Photo Courtesy: Shanghaiist.com)
A walk in the park… with a tiger
For Hu the animal keeper in a zoo in China’s Henan province, it was just a walk in the zoo park; a daily routine.
But for the visitors to the zoo, it did not turn out to be a routine visit.
Apparently pretty much oblivious to the surprise, shock and fear he was triggering, Hu was seen taking a tiger out for a walk through the zoo’s public area about a week ago.
The six month old tiger was held by Hu with a thin iron chain, state media reported, and nothing much else. The incident took place at the People’s Park Zoo in the city of Jiaozue in the northwestern district of Henan.
A local paper carried a report quoting Hu said he took the tiger out for a therapeutic walk as it had a problem with one of its hind legs.
The photograph published with the story was circulated in social media and forwarded and discussed about widely.
The keeper walked the tiger and massaged its limbs every day for the past three months before visitors witnessed it, a state media report said.
Vets had diagnosed the tiger for calcium deficiency and, besides a regular regime of walking, had also put the animal on supplements.
Visitors initially thought it was a dog painted with tiger-like stripes.
No one, not even the kind zookeeper, has been injured yet by the animal.
Photo of the zoo keeper with the tiger. (Photo Courtesy: gmw.cn)
A civilian traffic vigilante plants nails on roads
State-run Global Times newspaper recently reported the story of a very angry man who decided to sprinkle iron nails on the road near his home after he was unable to get any sleep because of traffic noise.
Sleepless in Shenzhen, Wu’s home was near a viaduct which sees heavy traffic throughout the day and night.
According to the report, Wu even stopped some drivers and complained to them about his situation. But clearly it did not help.
“Starting on September 8, 2012, Wu began making nails and putting them in the middle or sides of road. This led to blow outs for heavy trucks, buses and cars on several occasions. A victim surnamed Cao drove a car down this road at 2:00 pm on January 7, 2013 when both tires on the left side of his car were punctured by nails leading to Cao losing control of his car,” the report said.
Wu was recently sentenced to three years in prison for endangering public security by the Nanshan District People’s Court in Shenzhen.
If nothing else, Wu is now likely to get some undisturbed sleep in the prison.