Woman sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for possession of 4.5kg marijuana in Kaduna

 

Justice Mohammed Garba of the Federal High Court in Kaduna State has sentenced a 38-year-old woman, Felicia Raymond, to three years imprisonment for dealing in 4.5kg of marijuana.

 

Raymond was sentenced on Friday, March 31, 2023, following her guilty plea to illegal possession of a substance filed against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDELA).

 

Justice Garba, in his judgment, sentenced the convict with an option of N100,000 fine.

 

The NDLEA prosecuting counsel, T. J. Atserhegh, had earlier told the court that the convict was arrested with the substance in the Ungwan Rimi area of Kaduna on Feb.13, based on information received on the convict’s activities in the area.

 

Atserhegh said that the convict was arrested with 4.5kg of marijuana.

 

He said the offence is punishable under Section 19 of the NDLEA Act, Cap. N30, LFN, 2004 (As Amended).

 

Based on her guilty plea, the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case and also urged the court to convict and sentence her according to the prescribed law under which she was charged.

 

But the defence lawyer, Mr Francis Dauda, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as his client was now remorseful.

 

Dauda also informed the judge that the convict was a first-time offender and urged the court to consider an option of a fine instead of a custodial sentence. 

N-POWER BATCH C

 

N-Power Batch C

All N-Power batch-c applicants are expected to update their profile and take test for possible shortlisting to the next stage of the N-Power application process

Please note that all successful candidates will be sent a mail and given directions on the next stage.

Candidates not selected can re-apply for the next batch of the programme as soon as it opens for application.

Signed NASIMS

N-Power Customer Care

All enquires and complains should be channeled through the N-Power customer care line. Details are as follow:

Phone Number: 018888340 or 018888189

Opening days: Mondays Through Fridays (Time: 9AM – 9PM)

Saturdays (9AM-2PM)

Note: you can also send a mail to support.npower@nasims.gov.ng

Test Portal

Instructions:

Please make sure your records are fully updated on the NASIMS portal before taking this test

For first time login, recover your password using the underlisted procedures:

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2. Use the "Forgot Password" Option
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4. Enter the information of the option selected
5. Click on “Reset Password”
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7. Login with your N-POWER application email or N-POWER application ID and newly created password

After successful reset of password, please login to update your records before taking test.

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For other enquiry or query, please call 018888340 or 018888189 or send a message to support.npower@nasims.gov.ng

Meter Bypass

 

NSCDC arrests 9 over alleged meter bypass in Osun

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun Command, has arrested nine suspects for allegedly tampering with electricity meters in their residences to circumvent payment of the energy consumed.

This is contained in a statement issued by the NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Kehinde Adeleke, on Friday in Osogbo.

Elon Musk among experts urging a halt to AI training

 

Key figures in artificial intelligence want training of powerful AI systems to be suspended amid fears of a threat to humanity.

They have signed an open letter warning of potential risks, and say the race to develop AI systems is out of control.

Twitter chief Elon Musk is among those who want training of AIs above a certain capacity to be halted for at least six months.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and some researchers at DeepMind also signed.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, recently released GPT-4 - a state-of-the-art technology, which has impressed observers with its ability to do tasks such as answering questions about objects in images.

The letter, from Future of Life Institute and signed by the luminaries, wants development to be halted temporarily at that level, warning in their letter of the risks future, more advanced systems might pose.

"AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity," it says.

The Future of Life Institute is a not-for-profit organisation which says its mission is to "steer transformative technologies away from extreme, large-scale risks and towards benefiting life".

Media caption,

Watch: What is artificial intelligence?

Mr Musk, owner of Twitter and chief executive of car company Tesla, is listed as an external adviser to the organisation.

Advanced AIs need to be developed with care, the letter says, but instead, "recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no-one - not even their creators - can understand, predict, or reliably control".

The letter warns that AIs could flood information channels with misinformation, and replace jobs with automation.

• Is the world prepared for the coming AI storm?

The letter follows a recent report from investment bank Goldman Sachs which said that while AI was likely to increase productivity, millions of jobs could become automated.

However, other experts told the BBC the effect of AI on the labour market was very hard to predict.

Outsmarted and obsolete

More speculatively, the letter asks: "Should we develop non-human minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete [sic] and replace us?"

Stuart Russell, computer-science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a signatory to the letter, told BBC News: "AI systems pose significant risks to democracy through weaponised disinformation, to employment through displacement of human skills and to education through plagiarism and demotivation."

And in the future, advanced AI's may pose a "more general threat to human control over our civilization".

"In the long run, taking sensible precautions is a small price to pay to mitigate these risks," Prof Russell added.

But Princeton computer-science professor Arvind Narayanan accused the letter of focusing on "speculative, futuristic risk, ignoring the version of the problem that is already harming people".

'Slow down'

In a recent blog post quoted in the letter, OpenAI warned of the risks if an artificial general intelligence (AGI) were developed recklessly: "A misaligned superintelligent AGI could cause grievous harm to the world; an autocratic regime with a decisive superintelligence lead could do that, too.

"Co-ordination among AGI efforts to slow down at critical junctures will likely be important," the firm wrote.

OpenAI has not publicly commented on the letter. The BBC has asked the firm whether it backs the call.

Mr Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI - though he resigned from the board of the organisation some years ago and has tweeted critically about its current direction.

Autonomous driving functions made by his car company Tesla, like most similar systems, use AI technology.

The letter asks AI labs "to immediately pause for at least six months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4".

If such a delay cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium, it says.

"New and capable regulatory authorities dedicated to AI" would also be needed.

Recently, a number of proposals for the regulation of technology have been put forward in the US, UK and EU. However, the UK has ruled out a dedicated regulator for AI.

“Men Don’t Waste Time”: Funke Akindele’s Ex-husband JJC Skillz Reportedly Remarries After Few Months.

Silverdam shared a video of the couple’s alleged wedding invitation card that displayed that the event took place on February 10, 2023. Funke Akindele's ex-husband JJC Skillz allegedly remarries. Photos: @_tosinsilverdam, @jjcskillz Source: Instagram Not stopping there, the blogger noted that pictures of JJC at his wedding could not be obtained because he allegedly refused to have any taken at the event. However, a video of his alleged new bride on her wedding day made its way to social media. READ ALSO “Funke Akindele is my oga”: Toyin Abraham continues to defend herself from trolls, gets compared to actress PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates! See the post below: JJC Skillz’ alleged new marriage is coming just a few months after his marriage with Funke Akindele ended. Recall that in July 2022, he took to social media to announce that they had parted ways after efforts to amend things proved abortive. Nigerians react as Funke Akindele’s ex-husband JJC Skillz allegedly remarries after few months The news of the actress’ ex-husband allegedly moving on so fast with another woman raised a series of mixed feelings on social media. Read some of them below: tiana_hairport_and_more: “Wow so fast, if na woman do this now we no go hear word.” _bettygotbetter: “Why do they get married that quickly? Like I mean why do divorce people jump to another marriage that quickly.” jiddahkhan: “ JJ has been in Abuja for a while now, that means it is confirmed.” 

The Scale of the Problem

The Scale of the Problem

The World Health Organization estimates that 280 million people globally are living with depressive disorders. For African women – who are affected at approximately 1.5 times the rate of men – depression is a leading cause of disability. Yet, due to the lack of investment in mental health services, approximately 85% of people in low-income countries receive no treatment. The World Bank considers it “the greatest thief of productive economic life,” with yearly global costs of U.S. $2.5 trillion.

What Depression Looks Like

Depression is not a simple feeling of sadness, which diminishes after a few days. Rather, it is a disease that disables more people in Africa than HIV/AIDS, cancer or heart disease. It can endure for weeks, months or years. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, inability to concentrate or make decisions, feelings of guilt or anxiety, and a general loss of interest in life.

What’s at Stake

An African woman with depression, compared with her healthy peer, suffers greatly: She is less productive, has a lower income, and has poorer physical health. If she is a mother, the negative impact extends to her entire family. Research shows that children of depressed mothers are more likely to have poor health, struggle in or miss school, and suffer from depression themselves.

Furthermore, because depression impairs the ability to focus and concentrate, depression sufferers do not respond to health initiatives or livelihoods trainings, rendering these programs less effective.

This impaired ability to function in day-to-day life creates profound hardship in Uganda and Zambia, where life is community-centered and reliant on each person fulfilling her role, and where depression carries great stigma. When a woman is unable to perform her basic of her social responsibilities, she can become a target of criticism and social exclusion. All of this exacerbates her depressive symptoms, creating a dangerous feedback loop.

What We Are Doing

StrongMinds is the only organization working to rapidly scale a solution to the depression epidemic in Africa. By training lay community workers to deliver mental health services through group therapy sessions, we are able to provide depression treatment to the most underserved populations in sub-Saharan Africa.

Wife cries out as comedian Ijoba Lande declared missing

Wife of a popular social media comedian, Ganiyu Kehinde popularly known as Ijoba Lande, has cried out to the public over the disappearance of her husband. 

The woman declared Ijoba Lande missing, adding that he left home without his phone since Sunday night. 

In a video post on Instagram by the wife of the comedian and another relative on Tuesday, the skit maker has not returned home as his whereabouts are unknown. 

She wrote, “This is to inform the public that IJOBA LANDE left home to an unknown destination on 26th of March around 9:00 pm and up till now we can’t find him.

Who will save children from unending domestic abuse? By Eno-Abasi SundayWho will save children from unending domestic abuse? By Eno-Abasi Sunday

 

What would cause Miss Busola Oyediran, a mother who laboured to bring to life, two teen sons (aged five and two) to turn around and allegedly dehumanise them alongside her partner, Akebiara Emmanuel, is what Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi of the Samuel Ilori Magistrate Court, Ogba, Ikeja area of Lagos State, will be trying to decipher in the days and months ahead  Oyediran and her lover, Emmanuel (said to be the kids’ step-father) are facing a four-count charge bordering on the unlawful treatment of a child, unlawful infliction of injuries on a minor, unlawful assault of a child, and felony to cause harm. 

  
The Lagos State government charged the duo to court on January 16, 2022, for physically assaulting her biological children in the Egbeda area of the state, a few weeks after the kids were rescued by the police after neighbours reported that their mother was torturing them endlessly. 

Expectedly, the victims presented a very sad spectacle of man’s inhumanity to man, when their violators were paraded by the police. Etched on their innocent bodies, were scars and physical injuries, which spoke volumes of what they have been through.

As the nation battled to come to terms with the assault on the brothers, by their mum and her lover, everyone was, last Thursday, jolted by the arrest of a woman, Mrs. Upev, by the Benue State Police Command, on the suspicion of killing her 10-year-old stepson, Fanen Yange. 
  
A statement signed by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Catherine Anene, a superintendent of police (SP) said that the incident occurred on January 23, 2023, describing it as a case of culpable homicide, which was reported at E Police Division, Makurdi.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the deceased, Fanen Yange, 10, of International Market Area, Makurdi, was alleged by his stepmother, Mrs. Upev, to have stolen meat from the pot, and consequently beaten him up during the early hours of the day, but when the victim went to sleep at night, he could not wake up.”
  
The remains of Fanen, who was confirmed dead by a doctor, were deposited at the Bishop Murray Hospital morgue, in Makurdi, for autopsy, while investigation into his demise continues. 
  
In most cases, the joy that the birth of a newborn brings to their immediate and extended families, as well as society is beyond comprehension. This explains why most parents pull all stops to celebrate their arrivals amid pomp.
  
But how these bundles of joy quickly become sources of pains, or loathsome creatures that only beastly treatment from their parents, guardians, and caregivers is what many are unable to fathom. 
Virtually every week, gory images of abused children grace the media space leaving many to wonder whether humanity is beginning to run out of patience for children. Indeed, at the frequency, with which this is happening, many are wondering whether an end to child abuse is anywhere within sight. 
  
With 20 million of them being out of school in the country, and with no hopes of acquiring formal education, a good number of them roam the streets from sunrise to nightfall, and they pass the night in found spaces. Saved from weather vagaries and sundry vicissitudes, the ones that are fortunate enough to have roofs over their heads are routinely abused by their parents, guardians, master/mistresses, and relatives. This unfortunate scenario makes inevitable, the question, ‘who will save the Nigerian child?’
  
For context, child abuse refers to any action initiated by a parent, caregiver, guardian, or any other person, in addition to institutions or organisations that are capable of causing physical or emotional harm, risk of serious harm, injury, or even death to a child, whether through deliberate action, or failure to act. 
  
Child abuse, which is multi-faceted includes, exploitation, physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and emotional abuse. Specifically, child maltreatment constitutes neglect and all shades of abuse and exploitation, which result in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, continued existence, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship among others.
  
Domestic violence or abuse, experts say, contributes in no small way to inequalities that children face in society, including in education, and victims of domestic violence, according to stakeholders have a 13 per cent greater likelihood of not graduating from school.

China sets its own path to inspire others

 

Burkina Faso students learn how to grow crops at an experimental farm in Hebei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Cooperation: Nation's success inspires world

With border conflicts, climate change and rising prices threatening the food security of millions of people displaced from their homes in Burkina Faso, emergency humanitarian assistance funded by China poured into the country earlier this month.

The aid, from China's Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, delivered lifesaving food and other nutritional assistance to 170,000 refugees in the West African nation, marking another effort by Beijing to bolster Burkina Faso's food security.

"This is the demonstration of China's role as a major country and its support for the developing nations; a vivid practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind," said Lu Shan, Chinese ambassador to Burkina Faso, at a handover ceremony of the aid this month.

A team of Chinese agricultural experts and another of medical workers have continued to operate in the African nation.

Behind the moves are Beijing's greater commitment to building a community with a shared future for mankind by supporting global South-South cooperation, aiding developing nations in attaining a higher level of independent development and presenting a vision for countries, cultures and civilizations to better connect, said analysts and observers.

While setting out the vision for the Chinese path to modernization at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, underlined the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, which he first put forward in 2013, as an essential part of the modernization process.

Xi, who is also Chinese president, underscored in his report to the Congress that China will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress and stay dedicated to peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit as the nation follows its own path to modernization.

Over the past decade, Beijing has emerged as one of the top providers of global public goods, proposing the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative and initiating the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

As of 2021, Beijing had sent over 2,000 agricultural experts to more than 70 countries and regions, sharing technologies and methods that directly benefited over 1.5 million rural households, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Chinese medical teams, now working at 115 locations in 56 countries, are at the forefront of China's broader push to help developing countries improve their level of healthcare.

The nation responded quickly in February when the deadly earthquakes struck Turkiye and Syria, sending key supplies including makeshift homes, clothing, tents and medical equipment.

As China strides forward on its own path to modernization, the nation will remain steadfast in supporting other developing countries, to expedite their growth and work toward a better world, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang wrote in an article on Friday.

While addressing the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in June, President Xi announced China's decision to upgrade the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and add $1 billion to it on top of the $3 billion already committed to boost global development cooperation.

Koh King Kee, president of the ASEAN Research Center for a Community with Shared Future, said the building of a community with a shared future for mankind is a manifestation of China's foreign policy goal of peace, equality, development and win-win cooperation.

He noted that the vision is rooted in Chinese civilization, and represents China's answer to the world being beset by myriad challenges and risks including COVID-19, slow economic growth, climatic change, protectionism and anti-globalization.

The Malaysian scholar said Beijing's commitment to following its own path to modernization will inspire other developing countries to explore development paradigms tailored to their own conditions.

"Beijing's phenomenal rise to the world's second-largest economy has shown developing countries that modernization does not necessarily mean Westernization," he said.

"China's success stories are inspirations and encouragements to leaders of the developing world who see in China an alternative development model, and an important trade partner and a source of foreign investment," he said.

In the past decade, China has ratcheted up efforts to help developing countries, including those from Africa and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to boost their growth amid global headwinds.

Xi announced in 2021 that Beijing would undertake 10 poverty reduction and agricultural projects in Africa and send 500 agricultural experts to the continent. China's imports from African nations will total $300 billion between 2022 and 2024.

Guo Jia, an associate researcher at the China-Africa Institute, said Beijing's unwavering commitment to building a community with a shared future for mankind and its success in following its own path to modernization will be of particular significance to developing countries, especially Africa.

"For Africa, one favorable factor in its modernization process is that China will remain a good friend, partner and brother and make sure bilateral cooperation is on an equal footing, is win-win and fruitful, which is a key requirement for building a community with a shared future for mankind," she added.

China has also offered more scholarships to students from developing nations over the past decade in an effort to help build up these countries' talent base. Since 2015, Beijing has offered 10,000 government scholarships to countries participating in the BRI.

Muhammad Fahad Baqa, a Pakistani postgraduate student at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said he appreciates the opportunity to study in China because of the top research environment and the chance to better understand the nation's development and culture.

"Historically, we have seen that it is difficult for less-developed nations to modernize under a global political and economic structure that was created by and is dominated by Western wealthy nations," he explained. "Some aspects of China's development provide an example for other nations pursuing sustainable development, such as motivating the populace to build … infrastructure, legal frameworks, industrial policies and education," he said.

Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Pakistani Senate's Defense Committee, said Xi's vision for building a community with a shared future for mankind "is based on inclusivity, people-centric development and win-win cooperation".

He said the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by Xi on March 15 seeks to present an alternative to the "military-oriented, security-centric, Cold War mindset" being promoted by some hawkish elements in the West, who still have a zero-sum mentality that sees the world in black-and-white terms.

"This mindset divides and builds barriers, while President Xi's vision unites and builds bridges, as China did recently by promoting Iran-Saudi Arabia peace and rapprochement," he said.

Advisers call for greater protection of couriers' rights

 

A delivery driver loads his electric cart in Lanzhou, Gansu province, in December. CHEN BIN/XINHUA

An old Chinese saying states that when a person wakes up in the morning and opens the door to embrace a new day, seven items are necessary and unavoidable in his or her life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.

The saying has been "updated "recently, and it is now widely accepted that the seven items have been integrated into one thing — a parcel.

The adjusted saying illustrates the importance of parcels in Chinese people's lives nowadays.

Although the delivery industry has boomed in the past decade, and many people rely heavily on parcels to maintain their normal lives, it is easy to forget the most important part of the network — the millions of couriers who transport the items to their recipients.

Outdoor businesses prosper in Beijing

 

Outdoor business ventures around Beijing are offering customers more leisure opportunities. [Photo by WANG JING/WU XIAOHUI/LU PING/CHINA DAILY]

Customers attracted to a range of well-regulated new ventures

For the past five months, Lyu Fang has served customers coffee from a cart stationed in a sunken plaza at the trendy Solana Shopping Mall in Beijing's Chaoyang district.

The small cart has a deep-blue metallic exterior and a white table made from recycled plastic, where customers order their drinks, which are quick to arrive in attractive paper cups with black lids.

"Customers expect their coffee to be served promptly in comfortable surroundings," said Lyu, 32, who works from 10 am to 10 pm.

He once thought he should have worked for a coffee shop chain, but Kuuzy Home attracted him with its special business concept.

"The cart is enclosed, so I don't feel cold even in the depths of winter. Moreover, I love working in the coffee business," Lyu said.

The Kuuzy Home coffee cart, which occupies 3.5 square meters and started operating at the mall in October, stands out from other businesses at the location with its stylish fittings.

The cart is among the outdoor business ventures promoted recently by the Beijing municipal government as part of a new pilot project to meet increased demand for high-quality leisure products in the Chinese capital.

Unlike the street hawkers who randomly operate along the city's roadsides, these outdoor business ventures are regulated. They are situated in certain locations and have specified business hours.

On Jan 30, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform announced policies to optimize the city's business environment to enable consumption to recover and expand after the COVID-19 epidemic. These policies also specify management rules and registration methods for outdoor ventures.

Media reports questioned whether these businesses are part of plans to upgrade the street vendor economy promoted by some provincial governments in 2020, when street stalls were allowed to operate at night to spur economic growth during the epidemic.

Early last month, Beijing municipal authorities clarified that outdoor business ventures are not the same as street stalls, as they don't occupy green areas, sidewalks for the blind, or parking lots. Neither do they hinder public access.

In addition to these ventures meeting increased demand for high-quality consumption and leisure products, the local authorities and business owners have taken the initiative to pursue economic development in response to the epidemic's impact on the economy.

Li Li, CEO of Kuuzy Home, said: "We launched our coffee cart to respond to customers' needs. Due to the epidemic, I'd been looking at ways to operate the coffee business. Such carts have been popular in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and Chengdu, Sichuan province, but I didn't expect the Beijing municipal government to take a closer look at this new type of business."

Popular attraction

Kuzzy Home is not the only outdoor business at the Solana Shopping Mall. There are five more operating in the sunken plaza.

One of the most popular ventures is Ice Planet, a 200-square-meter ice rink that is particularly popular with children. The entrance fee is 129 yuan ($18.50).

Other areas of the city also have outdoor businesses, with 12 of them, including Xueji Food, located in Wangjing Walk, east of the Wangjing commercial area in Chaoyang.

Rapidly growing demand from consumers has spurred the introduction of these new outdoor businesses.

According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, spending on consumption in the capital contributes more than 60 percent of its economic growth, making consumption the main driving force of the local economy.

Per capita consumption expenditure in the capital rose to 42,683 yuan last year, up 14 percent from 2017, while sales of retail consumer products in the city last year reached 1.38 trillion yuan, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

However, despite their success, the definition of an outdoor business venture is still not that clear.

A report published in 2020 by Xinmin Weekly, which is based in Shanghai, said outdoor businesses are public places by nature. They are not included in the leases that apply to commercial tenants at a shopping mall, but they are run by the property management company at the mall.

The report said property companies should inspect these ventures annually, and if they don't meet certain specifications, they will no longer be allowed to operate.

Tao Xidong, a professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Sociology, said, "To enable the effective and efficient use of public space, the government needs to implement management rules for outdoor businesses, such as specifying their operating hours, preventing noise pollution, and ensuring that these ventures are clean, tidy, orderly and safe.

"But I suggest the government should administrate these businesses without undue intervention to give full play to their advantages. It should also adopt legitimate means to create more high-quality, refined and comfortable outdoor shopping areas. As a result, these businesses will play a bigger role in commercial districts."

Tao added that high-quality outdoor businesses can help establish more distinctive and attractive consumption areas and promote development of Beijing's urban culture.

"Standardized development of outdoor businesses can raise awareness among companies and residents of the need to promote high-quality development of the city's commerce," Tao said.

"For the government, these businesses can create more job opportunities and increase tax revenue to promote urban economic development. Under certain conditions, those operating these businesses can enlarge their commercial space, increase profits and take on social responsibility for the city."

Wang Heshun, 70, a regular visitor to Wangjing Walk, who was photographing an outdoor coffee booth shaped like a post office, said: "I like the artistic atmosphere of this place, which prompted me to take the photo. It doesn't feel like a street stall at all to me, and I can tell that a great deal of thought has gone into the booth's appearance."

Huang Sha, 40, who had just bought snacks from Xueji Food with her daughter before they went to watch a movie at a theater near Wangjing Walk, said: "I bought some food at this booth, which is very convenient, but I didn't notice it was a new type of business. I just thought it was part of the mall behind it, as it was so easy for me to get everything I wanted."

Finding a balance

While consumers are optimistic about the emergence of more outdoor businesses, experts said a balance needs to be struck if these ventures are to operate in the long run, instead of merely being a temporary proposition.

Yang Hongshan, professor and deputy dean of Renmin University of China's School of Public Administration and Policy, said, "The Beijing municipal government's timely adjustments to the regulations have made our policies more resilient, and also show that those managing the city are striving for a better balance in urban governance."

As an interactive and vibrant place, Beijing is characterized by the flow of people, Yang said. Outdoor businesses in particular, as direct contact points with residents, provide an important way to promote products through window displays or from shopping carts, in addition to traditional department store sales, he added.

"People's requirements for leisure and entertainment should be taken into account, while it is also important to maintain law and order in the city," Yang said.

"If these outdoor businesses are to operate in the long run, a balance has to be struck on both sides, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.

"There are various forms of consumption. If food and other products for daily use are provided by the outdoor business ventures, this will help restore the city's hustle and bustle, while also ensuring social order.

"As long as the owners of outdoor businesses follow the rules set by the authorities and confine their operations to designated areas and opening hours, these ventures will be an indispensable part of life in the city."

Pioneering efforts

Wangjing Walk, a 700-meter-long pedestrian route running amid high-rises, has witnessed the emergence of these burgeoning outdoor businesses.

A diverse range of shops decked out with plants, fresh flowers and sunshades lines both sides of the route, with customers sitting on metallic chairs around wooden tables to enjoy food and drink.

Tian Xudong, 36, who owns Theodore Gelato, an ice cream shop at the east end of Wangjing Walk, said: "I have lived in the local community for more than 20 years and I like the atmosphere here. It's a great experience sitting out in the street on sunny days to get some fresh air and watch people passing by.

"I obtained information about the renovations to Wangjing Walk purely by chance in late 2019, so I decided to open my Italian ice cream store on the route."

Tian's shop, one of the first outdoor businesses to open on Wangjing Walk, has been operating since August 2020.

"The chairs and tables are provided free by the sub-district office and property developers. We merchants are responsible for cleaning and sanitizing all the tables and chairs in front of our shops," Tian said.

"Customers are attracted by these facilities, but if they are not provided, they may not stop in the area to enjoy the open air and eat ice cream."

During the pandemic, Tian's business remained largely unaffected.

"Our rent is not that high, we are situated in a European-style block, and the government has given us some preferential treatment over the years. I would love to open more shops in other well-appointed business areas and continue to improve the quality of our ice cream," he said.

Li, the Kuuzy Home CEO, said, "I hope our carts operate in more business districts in Beijing to provide our customers with fresh coffee."