Kang Yun, 29, was finally reunited with his parents after 23 years of separation. According to police, Kang was kidnapped at an open-air market in 1998 when he was 6 years old and sold to a family about 3,000 kilometers away from his home in Hubei Province. In recent years, Kang has attempted to locate his parents through various means. A breakthrough came when police identified Kang’s parents in a database. Once informed, Kang rode his motorcycle through the night to his parents. A DNA test later confirmed their relationship. The story moved netizens, who called for more severe penalties against child traffickers.
A small private zoo in Hubei Province has drawn attention for its owner and sole employee, 82-year-old army veteran Luo Yingjiu. Luo has been rescuing wild animals in need for 32 years, and opened his zoo in 1989 with support from the local government. The zoo was popular with local children in the 1990s, but has seen few visitors since 2000 despite Li cutting ticket prices in half to 10 yuan (US$1.5). To keep his zoo running, Li makes extra money by selling scrap to recyclers. Netizens have called on local authorities to support the zoo and help it go viral on social media.
China Central Television Station (CCTV) recently reported on the rampant illegal sale of facial identification data in China. A biometric data dealer told CCTV that most customers are seeking to register mobile phone numbers, which require a real name and facial identification. The sellers turn stolen headshots into animated images that can bypass in-app facial scan prompts. They bundled these with the identity theft victims’ real names and other info for less than 1 yuan (US$0.65) each. The CCTV investigative report caused great public concern over online privacy protection, especially in apps.
A university student surnamed Wang was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for grave robbery. Media reported Wang was a fan of stories about robbing ancient graves for precious cultural relics and had long dreamed of doing some real tomb raiding. Wang joined a grave robbing ring in May 2020 as an “investor,” which police busted two months later as it raided an ancient tomb in Handan, Hebei Province. Netizens were shocked by Wang’s inability to distinguish fiction from reality.
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