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More than 100,000 electric lifts in the capital are being fitted with GPS monitoring devices and automatic alarm systems in a move aimed at improving safety.

Beijing's elevators are being upgraded one week ahead of new national standards.

One in 10 elevators in China are in Beijing.

The upgrade has been approved by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the Standardizations Administration, and will come into effect on March 1, the Mirror Evening News reported yesterday.

According to the new standard, alarm devices and talkbacks must be set up in lifts where they can easily be recognized and reached, the newspaper said.

The Beijing Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision says the GPS devices will be able to transfer the operation information to the terminal monitoring system, local media reported.

In the future, it is possible that all new lifts will have to include the devices before they can be sold to the Beijing market.

"Establishing the monitoring system in lifts could help operating staff get more information about lifts' operation. It's very important when accidents happen," Li Hualiang, director of the special equipment supervision department in the municipal bureau was quoted as saying.

The monitoring system will be similar to the "black boxes" in airplanes.

Li also said the automatic alarm system could help people communicate with elevator operating staff through video links in the event of a lift malfunction.

"Professional staff could help people inside the cage calm down and call for rescuers through the communication system," the director said.

As many as 80 percent of elevator accidents are caused by problems with lift doors because of a lack of regular equipment checks and repairs, the newspaper reported.

In one recent tragedy, a 68-year-old female resident, surnamed Liu, died in Fengtai district in June 2008 after the lift she was stuck in fell several floors. Twenty-one-year-old elevator mechanic Yang Yong was also injured in the incident and was in a coma for three days

The organizers of a snow carnival might sue a local newspaper after it reported almost 300 students had protested against low wages for part-time work over the Spring Festival.

The Beijing Times wrote yesterday that nearly 300 university students blocked a door of the Auti Outdoors Company for Winter Children Day. It said the students had signed contracts with the company from Jan 9 to March 1.

According to the article, the students claimed the company had promised to pay double wages for holiday work over the festival, 160 yuan per day, but the company later refused to pay the new rate.

Yu Tao, a spokesman of the carnival, said the contract asked the students to work from 9 am to 4 pm or 4 pm to 9 pm every day over the period. The wage is normally 50 yuan a day, which was then doubled during the Spring Festival.

"The newspaper was wrong. We never promised 160 yuan a day. We told students they would get 80 yuan a day before their working hours were extended on Jan 12, but didn't say this rate would be doubled during the festival," he said.

He also denied that the students had protested, adding that they had queued up in the corridor to collect their wages.

The students had their own version of the story.

"They told us we would get 160 yuan a day over the Spring Festival. It was 60 yuan more than the contract stated, which is why I decided to work for them," a student surnamed Fu told METRO.

Fu said 25 students in his team were asked to leave yesterday, after the number of visitors fell well below expectations.

"We waited hours to see if we could get the extra 420 yuan for the seven days of work, but left when the police turned up," Fu said.

The negative feeling was echoed by a second student, who asked not to be named.

"They didn't tell me to leave. If I quit before my contract ends, I get nothing. Worse than that, I actually have to give 2,000 yuan in compensation," he said, while holding up his contract.

Both students said they had been convinced the company was honest because the carnival was supported by the local government.

A software engineer who abused his position to gather account information on almost one million people has been sentenced to five years for credit card fraud.

Zhang Chunlei, 35, from Jiangsu province, was also fined 50,000 yuan at Tongzhou court.

Li Zhonghua, the trial judge, told METRO Zhang worked as a senior software engineer at Beijing Ruantong Power Information Technology Company when he cracked into some accounts.

Li said Zhang was responsible for inspecting and maintaining the ATM monitoring system for the Beijing branches of a major State-owned bank between 1999 and 2009.

During his work, he had access to customers' information.

According to the regulations of the bank, inspectors are not allowed to use storage devices to capture that information but Zhang secretly copied vast amounts of information, Li said.

The court heard Zhang then attempted to guess the passwords used by some credit card holders and created nine bogus credit cards using blank cards he bought in the Zhongguancun area.

On June 7, 2009, Zhang used a forged China Construction Bank credit card to obtain 7,900 yuan from an ATM at the Beijing Rural Commercial Bank's Yongshun branch in Tongzhou district.

And on June 20, Zhang wore a hat, mask, and gloves when he attended the Tongzhou branch, where he withdrew 70,000 yuan using eight counterfeit credit cards.

A passerby thought he looked suspicious and called police. Zhang was apprehended.

Zhang expressed remorse during the trial, but he said he would appeal the sentence to a higher court.

He explained that he committed the crime in a bid to get money to treat his father, who was battling esophagus cancer in Jiangsu province.

But Li told METRO the sentence was appropriate considering the amount of money involved.

"According to law, if a person is convicted of credit card fraud and the amount of money is between 50,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan, they will face imprisonment of between five and 10 years and a fine of between 50,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan."

Despite the fact that tourism authorities in the capital tried to give away two million free tickets to local attractions last year as part of a massive promotion, only 346,000 people made the most of the offer.

The freebies guaranteed entry to almost 50 tourism hot-spots in and around the city.

"Beijing was the first city to give away free tickets in China's tourism market," Wang Jian, director of the No 1 promoting department of the Beijing tourism administration, told METRO yesterday.

"It was a very successful marketing strategy during the global financial crisis last year." According to the latest press release on the administration's website, 980,000 people applied for tickets.

Of those, 346,000 visitors actually used them.

The most popular destination was The Summer Palace, which waved in 53,394 people brandishing free passes.

The give-away generated 980 million yuan for Beijing's tourism economy, the website said.

"Some people booked our free tickets with an errant address or unreadable handwriting, so 8.2 percent of the free tickets could not be delivered to those who registered for them," an officer, surnamed Shi, who was part of the free tickets registration team, told METRO yesterday. "We suggest people leave clear information for us during the following free-ticket events."

Shi explained that tourism authorities viewed the event as a success, even though only 346,000 of the two million free tickets were used. Some 300,000 were grabbed online during the Chinese New Year holiday.

"We were only expecting 200,000 people to use the free tickets, so it was much better than the benchmark we set in the beginning," Shi said. "We are expecting up to one million people to benefit from the free tickets this year."

Shi said the free tickets were responsible for an 11.8 percent growth in tourism income compared to the previous year. Of the free ticket users, some 25,000 people visited the China Central Television (CCTV) high-rise during the Spring Festival holiday. On one day, the influx broke the daily visitor record.

Zhao Yudong, general manager of the CCTV tower, said: "We accepted 4,193 free tickets but at least 10,000 others purchased theirs."

In light of last year's success, the tourism bureau is planning more promotional efforts for Beijing's tourism market.

"This year, we still plan to release up to two million free tickets in Beijing, mainly during the public holidays, and there will be more than 1,000 free rooms in hotels for more lucky visitors," Wang said.

Local villa owners compensated by developer for child killed by falling fireplace

The parents of a five-year-old girl, crushed to death by a falling fireplace in their home in 2009, will donate some of the compensation from the community's developer to start a charity foundation.

The girl surnamed Gong was killed by the collapse of a 100 kg fireplace in the family's villa in Napa Valley, Changping district, on May 17, 2009. Gong was sent to hospital but died six hours later.

The ensuing dispute between family and developer lasted for more than eight months. Gong's body was finally cremated on Feb 10, according to Li Fangping, a lawyer representing the family.

Li Wei, CEO of the developer, apologized to the family and signed a dispute settlement agreement with the family on Feb 5.

Lawyer Li said the developer would pay more than 2 million yuan to the family and buy back the villa at the current market value - currently 35,000 to 42,300 yuan per sq m.

"It is a pity we could not start a criminal investigation, but Gong's family now just want to start their new life," Li told METRO.

Li said Gong's father would set up a fund with part of the compensation to protect other children. The fund would be ready in May to mark the anniversary.

"After my daughter died, I checked and found that the fireplace had only been glued on the wall," Gong Yaobin, the girl's father, wrote in his blog.

Mao Daqing, vice-president of Vanke Co Ltd, wrote in his blog on Aug 24, 2009 that these types of heavy fireplaces must always be secured with metal reinforcements.

On May 25, Gong demanded the developer of the community to provide his family with an explanation. However, he only received a letter of sympathy from the property management company, a subsidiary of the developer.

"The developer refused to apologize or admit fault and even avoided our family for up to three months after the accident," Gong said in his blog on Aug 24.

Gong finally called the police on Sept 1. An investigation team went to his house the following day.

A report on the fireplace, announced by Changping police on Feb 8, said the design was below the State standard, but it was not a criminal case.

Beijing police confirmed Thursday they have detained 18 people for allegedly causing an affray and intentionally injuring artists at an art zone on Monday.

The artists staged a brief protest against the attack and the demolition of the art zone in Chaoyang District, Beijing, Monday afternoon, after the incident.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau's information office said the suspects allegedly broke into three artists' workshops in Changdian Village, Chaoyang, on Monday. Police later arrived to control the situation in response to a phone call from the artists.

More than 10 artists, including Ai Weiwei, rallied on Chang'an Avenue at about 3 pm Monday, expressing discontent over the demolition of the Chuangyi Zhengyang Art Zone in eastern Beijing's Chaoyang District.

Police are still investigating the dispute.

An 84-year-old man almost died in a State-owned hospital when nurses failed to notice his heart and breathing had stopped because they were playing cards, relatives claimed.

Chen Xiang, a retired Beijing railway employee who suffered from kidney cancer, underwent surgery at Fengtai Hospital on Jan 13. The hospital is a large local hospital with more than 1,600 medical staff and 1,100 beds.When my brother pushed open a second door, he found the head nurse and two other people playing cards with a doctor, surrounded by several nurses

After surgery, Chen was returned to his ward. Within minutes, Chen's sons noticed from medical machines that their father's heartbeat and breathing had stopped.

"We were scared and ran to call the doctor and nurses," said Chen Guangzong, one of the sons.

He said his brother Chen Yinghua knocked on the nurse's door but couldn't locate anyone.

"When my brother pushed open a second door, he found the head nurse and two other people playing cards with a doctor, surrounded by several nurses," he said.

He said they asked him to find the attending doctor and returned to their card game.

Chen's attending doctor, Wang Gang, an associate chief physician, came to check on him more than 10 minutes later after a nurse working in a neighboring room called him, Chen's relatives said.

Wang performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation that restarted Chen's heart, but was unable to initiate breathing. Chen was then transferred to the hospital's intensive care unit.

"How could medical care staff be so indifferent to a dying elderly patient?" asked Chen Yinghua.

Fengtai Hospital responded to protests by the family on Feb 2 with a written reply that stated they are investigating the allegation.

Fang Lihua, the head nurse accused of playing cards on duty, has been asked to admit responsibility and will not receive her bonus, the hospital said.

"Playing cards is unconnected to Chen's coma, and the attending doctor did well to save his life," said the hospital reply, Beijing Times reported.

An officer surnamed Ding with Fengtai district health bureau said nurses must always be available, even if there is no patient on the ward.

The bureau will track the investigation and request communication between the hospital and Chen's family, according to Beijing Times.

Statistics show that disagreements between hospitals and the families of patients are on the rise. Courts handled 862 medical malpractice conflict compensation cases in 2006, 997 in 2007 and 1,020 in 2008, according to Beijing Evening News.

A five-month-old Nanjing infant, sent to a local hospital with eye problems, got significantly worse when the on-duty doctor refused to help.

He was reported to be playing computer games that drowned out the desperate pleas of the child's parents. The infant died on Nov 4, 2009.

A family was attacked after quarreling with a tour guide on a trip to Badaling Great Wall over the recent Chinese New Year holiday, a time when 7.65 million visitors flocked through the city's gates.

Cui Jianguo and his family, from Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, were handed a flyer last Sunday outside the National Stadium for a one-day-tour to the wall, Beijing Times reported yesterday.

The Hebei family was picked up by a minibus near Guanzhuang at 4 am on Monday morning and taken to Xicheng district, then transferred onto a coach.

A female tour guide on the bus told Cui and his wife to seat their 9-year-old twin sons on their laps.

"She spoke us in a very impolite way, so we complained. We never thought she would get so mad at us," Hu Lin, Cui's brother-in-law, was quoted as saying.

Hu said the tour guide asked them to get off the vehicle but they refused.

"The woman rounded up seven or eight guys from the area who beat us up," Hu said.

According to medical records from Beijing No.2 hospital, Cui received a skull fracture and a wound behind his left ear, the newspaper reported.

Hu's hands were also injured, and the clothing of both men was damaged Local police said they have detained two people, who claimed they were licensed tour guides trying to stop the fight.

The rented coach belongs to the Beijing Automotive Group. The company dodged questions about who had rented their vehicle. Xicheng police is investigating the case.

"It is quite possible that the trip was arranged by an unlicensed travel agency," Song Jun, a press officer from the Beijing tourism administration, told METRO yesterday.

He said unlicensed travel agencies are a big problem for the Beijing tourism market. The administration is trying to regulate the market, but said it cannot do it alone.

"We are cooperating with Beijing police, urban administration and many other government agencies. We strongly suggest all travelers go to licensed agencies and not fall for random adverts," he said.

The recent Chinese New Year holiday saw a rise of more than 5 percent in visitors to Beijing, compared with last year. The tourism income hit almost 3 billion yuan and an 11.8 percent growth.

According to Ctrip.com, the biggest online travel agency in China, Beijing has taken over Shanghai as the most popular city.

A provocative anti-smoking ad campaign featuring teens in a subservient sexual position has sparked heated debate in France, media reported Thursday.

The three ads show teenagers on their knees with cigarettes between their lips, their faces at a man's waist, looking submissively into his eyes. The advertising slogan says, "Smoking means being a slave to tobacco."

"The campaign trivialises sexual abuse -- worse, it implies guilt on the part of the abused," the Telegraph quotes a commenter from the Droits des Non-Fumeurs Web site as saying.

France's minister for families, Nadine Morano, said she would take measures to get the advert banned on grounds of "public offense to decency".

Dawn Brancheau's family remembered the SeaWorld trainer who died in a fatal killer whale attack as a "loving person" who always dreamed of working with animals.

Here is a text of her family's statement issued through SeaWorld of Orlando, as reported by Florida TV's News 13.

You have all heard what an amazing trainer Dawn Brancheau was and it is true – she was the best. It came naturally to her. Being a trainer was a life-long dream that she achieved. She loved her job, and she loved her animals.

For her husband, family and friends, Dawn was so much more. She was a compassionate and loving person who lived life to the fullest. She touched so many lives. Those who knew and loved her have suffered a tremendous loss, one so unexpected that it is extremely difficult to even process or comprehend at this time. Our family sincerely appreciates everyone’s prayers and compassionate thoughts for Dawn, her husband and family.

While we understand that this tragic event is capturing headlines across the country, at this time, our family needs space and privacy to absorb our loss. We sincerely hope that the media will honor and respect this request.

Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending.