Elderly men cut cable and bring oil field to standstill

Oil production of the Shengli Oil Field in Dongying, East China's Shandong province, was reduced by 41 tons last weekend after two 78-year-old residents of an old age home cut a high voltage cable for the oil field, bringing 46 oil wells to a standstill.

On Sunday, workers at Shengli Oil Field reported to police that a section of the high-voltage cable had been cut off.

According to police, two men surnamed Ding and Chen, residents of a government-run old age home in Kenli county, found a fallen high-voltage line utility pole on the ground when they were out picking up garbage.

The two returned with tools and cut off part of the high-voltage line. They stripped the cable for aluminum wires, which they then sold to scrap collection stations to get some pocket money, police said.

Police said they traced the wires at two scrap dealers to the two men.

The men were released back to the old age home the same day, due to their age and infirmities, police said.

(China News Service)

Student in spotlight for speech on education

A high school student, who replaced a pre-approved speech with a new one, delivered vehement criticism about problems in China's education system at a campus event on Monday in Qidong, Jiangsu province.

Jiang Chengbo, a student at Huilong High School, complained in the speech that students were pushed by parents and schools to enter good universities, but missed the point of education.

He cited research findings saying Chinese students ranked at the top worldwide in computing skills, but lowest in creativity and urged fellow students to find their real dreams.

Jiang was supposed to give a completely different speech pre-approved by teachers at the weekly campus assembly after a national flag raising ceremony.

Some students applauded after he concluded the talk. Teachers could have stopped him by turning off the microphone, but they let him finish the five-minute speech, Xu Hui, the school's deputy head, said. Jiang will not be punished, he added.

(Yangtze Evening News)

Twenty families each adopt Yangtze alligators

Twenty families have each adopted a Yangtze alligator from a nature reserve in East China's Anhui province, and more of the animals are being offered for adoption, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

"This is the first time we have organized adoptions for Yangtze alligators. We want to let more people know about this critically endangered species by finding 'human adopters' for them," said Wang Chaolin, deputy director of the Anhui Yangtze Alligator National Nature Reserve Administration.

Adopters each pay 500 yuan ($80) to the administration for feeding and protecting their new charges. They are provided with adoption certificates and allowed to visit the alligators regularly. Each adopted alligator has an ID chip so that families can identify which one belongs to them, Wang said.

The Yangtze alligator, also known as the Chinese alligator, is native only to China.

(Xinhua News Agency)

75-year-old caught by officer after jumping

A 75-year-old woman who jumped from the second floor of her home in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province, on April 6 was caught by a traffic police officer and suffered only minor injuries.

The woman, surnamed Sun, who suffers from cerebral atrophy, climbed out of a window in her home and stood on a plastic advertisement board.

The officer, Hui Miao, caught Sun when she fell and stayed with her until her family and medical aid arrived. Hui complained of pain in his right shoulder and may have suffered a pulled muscle and torn ligament.

Sun suffered a minor fracture in her left ankle. Her daughter-in-law, surnamed Chen, said her injuries would have been worse if Hui had not broken her fall.

(Shandong Business Daily)