Beijing ticket is mother's dream

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-7-16  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

TICKET transfers for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics have come to an official stop, with some people raking in fat profits and at least one making a mother's dream come true.

While some used the tickets for personal gain, one man spread happiness.

In Ningbo City in China's eastern Zhejiang Province, a man surnamed Wang transferred his ticket to a dying woman for free so she could watch her son perform martial arts at the opening ceremony.

The woman, surnamed Dong, a scrap-collector afflicted with lung cancer, was feared to have only three months to live.

Her dream to see her son, Ding Tian, perform at the ceremony came true when she received a ticket two hours before the Monday deadline when the transfers, which had started on June 20, finished at 5pm on the day.

Those who wished to transfer tickets were required to produce their identity cards and do the transactions at designated branches of the Bank of China.

One ticket can be transferred only once.

However, neither the Bank of China nor the Olympic organizing committee ticket center could provide the total number of tickets transferred during the period when reached for comment.

Previously, the organizing committee stated: "Any resale of Olympic tickets for profit is illegal."

It vowed to "support the authorities to crack down on suspected illegal transactions."

Regardless, many tickets were found offered on the Internet at inflated prices. Media reports exposed one extreme case where one 5,000 yuan (US$731) ticket was sold for 210,000 yuan.

"Such people did go through the right procedures when doing transactions in the bank," said a clerk who declined to be named. "They then charged extra money themselves. We can do nothing about it."

He added the strict policy of the ticket center did help curb illegal scalping.

Tickets were not transferred if problems were found with identity cards, photos or application forms.