Courtroom romance

Now in its sixth season, the US drama The Good Wife has entertained viewers with unusual courtroom cases. But the Qianjiang Evening News reckons it has a Chinese legal case that would top any American court settlement. Earlier this month a judge was baffled when a suit to recover a Rmb100,000 loan was settled within seconds of both parties entering the courtroom. The sum had been lent by a man surnamed Li who turned up at the hearing with his young daughter. He was suing Hu Cheng, a Shanghainese who had guaranteed the loan on behalf of his brother, whose business had defaulted. Hu was initially reluctant to honour his guarantee – having told the judge in advance that he thought his brother had forged his signature on the loan agreement. However, when he walked into the courtroom and saw Li’s daughter, his mood immediately brightened as he asked her if she had a boyfriend. On discovering she didn’t Hu showed her a photo on his smartphone of his own 29 year-old son – also single. He then turned to the judge and said “Let’s drop the case. I will definitely repay the money on behalf of my brother and I will give another Rmb100,000 as dowry. Li, let’s become in-laws!” The Qianjiang Evening News says that Li’s daughter has agreed to meet Hu Cheng’s son, with a view to becoming his wife. And the paper says that as a show of good will, Li wrote off the interest Hu owed on the loan…

© ChinTell Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sponsored by HSBC.

The Week in China website and the weekly magazine publications are owned and maintained by ChinTell Limited, Hong Kong. Neither HSBC nor any member of the HSBC group of companies ("HSBC") endorses the contents and/or is involved in selecting, creating or editing the contents of the Week in China website or the Week in China magazine. The views expressed in these publications are solely the views of ChinTell Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views or investment ideas of HSBC. No responsibility will therefore be assumed by HSBC for the contents of these publications or for the errors or omissions therein.