Society

Beijing, April 11 (IANS) A Chinese man has been convicted for conducting a slander campaign on the internet, accusing his former girlfriend of being raped, working as a prostitute and spreading AIDS, a report said.

Yang Yongmeng, 32, distributed explicit photos and video footage of his former girlfriend on the Internet, and fabricated a story that she had been raped, worked as a prostitute and was infected with HIV, after she broke up with him, Xinhua reported Saturday.

The campaign resulted in the woman becoming the subject of public vitriol and which ruined her reputation.

Yang was later convicted of aggravated defamation and sentenced at the People’s Court in Rongcheng county in Hebei province March 26, an official was quoted as saying Saturday.

Yang met the woman in March 2008. They soon became lovers and lived together in Beijing, when he shot explicit video clips and photos, police said.

Sunday is a slow night for the Beijing Hooters girls. Jiang Xin -- or Summer, as her name tag reads -- takes the opportunity to teach the new hires one of their dance routines.

With smoky dark eyes and her all-black trainer uniform, 24-year-old Jiang is sexy, smoldering and standoffish until she smiles. This she does when she gently admonishes the girls to loosen up, laugh, and stop tugging at the bottoms of their shorts.

Hooters in Beijing is much like its American counterpart. The waitresses dress in orange track shorts, pantyhose and shrunken white tank tops. When customers come in, they call out in garbled English, "Welcome to Hooters!"

A sign hanging by the bathroom reads: "Caution. Blonds thinking." A glass case displays a Hooters China swimsuit calendar, mugs, T-shirts and a Hooters-branded miniature Temple of Heaven.

On the scale of China's sexual evolution, Hooters lands somewhere between a wink and a smile. Unthinkable two decades ago, the restaurant promotes a playful kind of sexuality different from the country's seedy massage parlors and hostess bars, and yes, it serves the chain's famous wings too.

Tibetan tour guide Nyima took an early morning train to Beijing Friday to accompany an American tour group to Lhasa.

The 27 teachers from the United States are the third foreign tour group Nyima has received since April 1.

"In April last year I received six foreign groups in total," he said. "This year the number will at least double."

Nyima said he expects a buoyant tour market until fall. "We have reservations for the next six months."

As a result, his Lhasa-based company, Xueyu Pandi Tours, expects a 30-percent increase in revenues this year.

Nyima said social stability is the main reason for the recovery in tourism.

"Last year many people were cautious, fearing the riots of 2008 might reoccur. But this year more people are convinced it's safe to make the trip."

Tibet has around 80 travel services, which are mostly headquartered in Lhasa but have offices at major tourist destinations like Xigaze and Nyingchi.

Most tour operators have clearly felt the recovery in tourism.

At the end of March 2010, a 78-year old man, Huang Rixin, built a cell apartment (smaller than 2 sqm) for graduates.

Now the first resident, 25-year lady, Zhang Qi moved in after one day trial period.