A tourist visiting Beijing named Zhao Zhifei (赵志斐) was recently mistaken for a petitioner, and was dragged from his hotel by a dozen unidentified men, and packed into a van on the evening of September 15th. Zhao was then discovered the following day lying unconscious on Yingcai Road (英才路) in Luoyang's Luolong District, in what appears to be a straightforward case of mistaken identity: Zhao was unlucky enough to share a hotel room with three other Henanese men who actually were petitioning in the capital. more ›

"POLICE have freed 22 women forced to become sex workers in a south China city, local authorities said. Six suspects have been arrested. The women were lured by job promises to the city of Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian Province, where the suspects forced them to work in an entertainment parlor as sex workers, police allege. Police raided the parlor in downtown Xiamen on Saturday after being tipped off by two abducted women who fled from a rented house on the outskirts of the city. The women were kept in the house when they were not working. Police said the women they rescued were abducted from other parts of Fujian, as well as Henan, Sichuan and Chongqing. Young rural women, eager for high-paying jobs in the cities, have become easy prey for human traffickers." [Shanghai Daily] more ›

• A 13-year-old girl was abducted by a couple who planned on raising her and marrying her to their 22-year-old son. In stereotypically creepy fashion, they claim they "did not know the girl was only 13." Someone call Chris Hanson.
• A salon owner skipped town with almost one million RMB after enticing some of his regular customers (and some staff) to deposit up to 50,000RMB onto their membership cards in anticipation of "promotional offers." For those who are wondering, given 100RMB for a haircut, 50,000RMB will buy you four haircuts a year for 125 years. We can't even imagine what kind of happy endings promotional offers that place was selling.
• The Shanghai government has its hands full trying to deal with 55,000 tons of rotting duckweed plants that were dredged from the Huangpu River. The plants originated from Zhejiang Province; perhaps we should send them back?

• China says seven "terror cells" found in Kashgar [Reuters] "China uncovered seven "terror cells" in the western frontier city of Kashgar in the first four months of 2009, the China Daily said on Wednesday, citing the city's party secretary."
• Chinese groups protest Dalai honor [China Daily]"Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday that Beijing remains opposed to "foreign political figures having official exchanges with the Dalai Lama". Qin said "any irresponsible moves taken by whatever country on this issue will constitute gross intervention in China's internal affairs and will certainly seriously damage China's relations with the relevant countries"."

• China: “Destroy Japanese Anime!” [Sankaku Complex] "A recent comment by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao decrying the lack of Chinese anime has incited a flurry of online support, with Chinese net users vigorously denouncing Japanese anime."
• Chinese Hunger for Sons Fuels Boys’ Abductions [NYTimes] "These and thousands of other children stolen from the teeming industrial hubs of China’s Pearl River Delta have never been recovered by their parents or by the police. But anecdotal evidence suggests the children do not travel far. Although some are sold to buyers in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, most of the boys are purchased domestically by families desperate for a male heir, parents of abducted children and some law enforcement officials who have investigated the matter say."
• Bill Schiller on one man's quest [TheStar.com] "In China, noted designer and blogger Ai Wei Wei is on something of a lonely quest for justice. The Star's Bill Schiller explains, via Skype, from Beijing."