News of two Chinese tourists who were detained for performing Nazi salutes in Germany has caused quite a stir among Chinese netizens and spurred heated online discussions.

The two Chinese tourists, aged 36 and 49, reportedly made the banned salutes in front of the Reichstag parliament building and were detained by Berlin police over the weekend for breaking German laws.

They were fined 500 euros each and reportedly have been released by the police.

Fierce criticism

The two men have already been met with fierce criticism from their countrymen, many of whom expressed support for Germany’s punishment of the two.

“This is the price they have to pay for being ignorant,” said user “OKLibing” of twitter-like Weibo on Monday.

According to German law, using the symbols of anti-constitutional organizations can lead to a sentence of up to three years in jail or a fine.

Any hate speech or symbols linked to illegal organizations such as Nazis are regarded as a serious violation of German law.

“I have to support German law,” wrote Weibo user “Goodman-Zhou.”

Obey the local law

In addition to condemning the insensitive actions, netizens and government alike have called on Chinese tourists to learn the local laws and customs before going abroad.

“Do remember to bring your own dignity and that of your country when traveling abroad, and don’t humiliate your parents and motherland,” said a comment by Weibo user “Liuche.”

Chinese citizens who are or will be visiting Germany should obey the local law and respect local culture to avoid similar incidents, suggested the Chinese embassy in Germany.

Chinese media including The People’s Daily, CCTV News and China News Service all covered the incident and reiterated the importance of acting in accordance with the local law while traveling abroad.

“It is necessary to be familiar with local laws before traveling overseas, and do not breach the bottom line,” said a comment by popular blogger “Shiciyuan” that has received nearly 1,000 “likes.”

Japan compared

While praising the German attitude toward its history, some Chinese netizens also make a comparison to that of the Japanese government.

“Germany has the courage to admit its mistake and correct it. However, Japan always refuses to admit and even glorifies its crimes,” wrote “Madaha358” on Netease, a Chinese portal website.

While Germany is wary of the revival of extremism, Japanese right-wing forces have showed no remorse for the country’s history and often tried to whitewash the crimes committed during the WWII, said “Haominiao” on Sina.com, another major portal.

“Some Japanese officials even visit the Yasukuni shrine which houses class A war criminals, what a shame!” said one netizen named “Woniumianbao.”

Another comment by “2466323822” on Sina asked the Japanese government to learn from Germany when facing historical issues.

“I think it is why Germany was forgiven after WWII, but Japan wasn’t and is still blamed,” said another Weibo user.

Despite having cerebral palsy, 28-year-old has overcome physical challenges and proven outstanding English-language ability.

Guan Ping lifts Liguan onto an exercise machine in their home. [Photo by Tan Yingzi/China Daily]

Dressed in a green T-shirt and wearing a big smile, Liguan Yanping looks like a teenager. He likes to talk, both in Chinese and English, at a slow speed.

He spends most of his time in front of a computer translating or writing songs. Last year, he translated two books about Chinese calligraphy and painting into English.

When Liguan was born prematurely, in Southwest China’s Chongqing in 1989, he weighed just 1.4 kilograms and was later diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal development or damage to the parts of the brain that control movement, balance and posture, leading to poor coordination, tremors and weak or stiff muscles. People with cerebral palsy may also have impaired senses of touch, sight and hearing as well as difficulty swallowing and speaking.

There are about 6 million people with cerebral palsy in China, according to the China Disabled Persons’ Federation.

“A doctor told us that surgery may help alleviate his muscle spasms, but that he would have difficulty sitting or walking in the future,” said Guan Ping, Liguan’s mother. “I had no idea what I was facing at that time.”

Despite objections from family members, Guan decided not to have a second child, so she could focus on looking after Liguan.

In 1990, she quit her job as a factory worker and started looking after her son full time.

“I will do my best to help my son live a normal life,” Guan said.

Guan has spent 20 years taking her son to see specialists across the country to help him improve body movement. Every day, she spends two hours massaging Liguan to help ease his muscle spasms, and supervising his physical training.

When Liguan was young, Guan was so strict with his training that no matter how much he cried, she would not allow him to give up. It led to people calling Guan “Tiger Mom”, and some neighbors even told local authorities that they suspected Guan was abusing Liguan.

Under great pressure, Guan attempted to commit suicide twice. “Most people, including my husband, could not relate to me and criticized my actions,” she said. “I believe that the only way for my son to achieve his dreams is through rigorous training.”

Guan’s hard work paid off. By age 16, Liguan was able to walk by himself. Now, he can conduct basic daily tasks, such as going to the toilet, washing his face, dressing himself and cooking simple meals.

“My mother and I have a very close relationship,” Liguan said. “She is my best friend, teacher and coach.”

Due to his physical condition, Liguan did not attend school. Instead, his mother, a high school graduate, educated him at home.

When Liguan was 12, he fell in love with learning English. Guan bought him a lot of study materials, and took him to local language training centers and English corners in the city.

Liguan has shown a great talent for learning English. He has passed China’s Public English Test 4, demonstrating English language ability equivalent to that of a nonnative English major student.

However, his physical handicap prevents him from taking further tests, as he writes too slowly to complete examinations in time.

Last year, a Chinese friend at Oxford University recommended Liguan for a translation job for a picture book of Chinese calligraphy and painting.

His work gained recognition from the author who then asked him to translate the second volume of the book.

Guan is currently working on his third translation project: a book on the origins of Chinese characters.

He also likes writing poems and songs. A poem he wrote in English, A Fruit That Was Loved By A Worm, reads:

I have no graceful appearance,

But a fine, pure spirit.

My dumbness illustrates intelligence.

My blemish makes you seem more complete.

The world is beautiful because of you,

And more realistic because of me.

“My dream is to become a professional English translator and song composer,” Liguan said.

The Tianjin Public Security Bureau announced early results on Tuesday in what is expected to be a 20-day campaign against pyramid schemes in the city.

It said police have identified 85 suspects involved in pyramid schemes and broken up 420 dens of the illegal business operation, after two deaths were reported recently.

Around 3,000 police officers have been assigned since Sunday to ferret out the organizations, it added.

About 100 suspects have been arrested in connection with 86 scams since the beginning of this year, according to figures from the bureau.

Pyramid schemes usually involve an organization that compels individuals who wish to join to make a payment, and the organization promises its new members a share of the money taken from every additional member they recruit.

In practice, unwitting victims are often lured to a place they believe they will meet legitimate job recruiters. They are asked, often under duress, to hand over hundreds of yuan to become a member.

The leaders of such organizations always profit from the recruiting of new members.

Zhang Chao, 25, was found dead on a road in Xiqing district of the city on the morning of July 14, four days after he inadvertently joined a pyramid scheme organization, the police said in a statement.

Police detained two people connected to the organization on Monday who admitted abandoning Zhang after finding that he was seriously ill, the police said. Autopsy results will be available in a month.

The body of 21-year-old university graduate Li Wenxing was found on July 14 in a pond in Tianjin’s Jinghai district. An autopsy showed that he drowned, but the circumstances that led to his death are still under investigation.

Five people were detained in Li’s case, and all confessed to luring him into a pyramid scheme, the police said.

According to media reports, pyramid schemes are rampant in Jinghai district. Local police detained more than 400 suspects in 2015 and 2016. They carried out seven operations targeting one such organization, called Die Beilei, which they say caused the death of Li.

In September 2007, the Tianjin government set up a joint working group to fight against the schemes. The authorities carried out seven operations targeting the illegal activity.

The two deaths made headlines in Chinese media because both of them were lured into pyramid schemes in Tianjin through job-seeking websites, raising questions about the legitimacy of online recruitment websites and whether the sites should be responsible for vetting advertisers.

The smog-filled Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has seen improvement in combating particulate pollution, such as PM2.5, since 2013, but faces worsening ground-level ozone pollution during the summers, a challenge many developed countries share, a new report from Peking University said.

The 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region last year saw the annual average concentration of ground-level ozone increase by 13.1 percent, compared with the level in 2013, the report said.

The report was conducted by the Center for Statistical Science and the Guanghua School of Management, both based at Peking University, using data released from the 73 State-controlled air quality monitoring stations and 25 meteorological stations in the region between March 2013 and May 2015.

“The analysis has clearly showed the sharp decline of the major airborne pollutants since 2013, especially of particulate matter, because a package of strong control measure initiated in past years works,” Chen Songxi, director of the statistics center and survey leader, said on Tuesday.

The annual average concentration of PM2.5 decreased last year by 27 percent since 2013, and PM10 fell by 31 percent last year, compared with the 2013 level, according the report, released on Saturday.

PM2.5 and PM10 refer to fine particulate matter, with diameters measured in microns, and are regularly monitored.

“The region is likely to reach the target of reducing the concentration by 25 percent by the end of 2017 from the level in 2013,” the report said.

The annual levels of sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide dropped dramatically in the past four years, and nitrogen dioxide concentration dipped.

But among other major pollutants, ground-level ozone concentration has increased in the 13 cities between 2013 and 2016, the report said.

“In summers, this invisible oxygen pollution worsened, and governments should set reduction targets to control it, like they did in combating PM2.5,” said Chen.

High ozone concentration at ground level could lead to breathing problems, lung diseases and asthma, the World Health Organization has said.

Since May 1, Beijing has had 53 days with excessive ground-level ozone concentration, increasing 7 percent above the annual average in the same period of the past five years, said Dong Xin, an engineer at the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center.

“But it doesn’t mean the controls are not working, because the increased ozone has a close relation with the strong sunshine,” she said.

Many developed countries have faced the problem in summers, as well.

China is marking its third “Cashless Day” on Tuesday, August 8, 2017. With the country predicted to become the world’s first cash-free society in a decade, new calls are being made to create legislation to make online payments safer, reports the Legal Daily.

“Cashless Day” was proposed in 2015 by Tencent, which runs a payment service through its WeChat application. In attempting to promote “cashless day,” Tencent argues a life free from physical currency is smarter, lower-carbon and more convenient.

The use of physical cash as a form of payment is dwindling in China. A recent report from the China Internet Network Information Center shows just over half – 50.3% – of all payments made at brick-and-mortar shops were mobile payments as of December, 2016.

However, the growing trend toward online payments has also aroused security concerns, including potential privacy invasions, identity theft risk and payment platform loopholes.

Experts quoted by the Legal Daily suggest the Chinese government is obliged to build a safe payment environment through legislation.

“Legislative studies related to a cashless society are going to be a major subject in the years to come,” said Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Research Center on Communication Laws at the China University of Political Science and Law.