Member Article

Chinese man tries to sell ?World Cup air?

A Chinese entrepreneur is suing a Beijing trade bureau for denying him a permit to sell bags of “World Cup air.” Li Jie, who describes himself as chief executive of the Lunar Embassy to China and once tried to sell land on the moon, sought a permit to sell “World Cup air” for 50 yuan (3 pounds) a bag to football enthusiasts unable to make the trip to Germany this year, Reuters reports.

But the Chaoyang Industry and Commerce Bureau had rejected his application on the grounds that “special air from special places” was not classified as “an industrial category”, the Beijing News said. In court, Li dismissed the assertion that the concept of selling air was unclear and accused the bureau of denying him a “once every four years” sales opportunity.

Li also plans to bottle and sell “2008 Olympic air” when Beijing hosts the event in 2008. The case continues.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .