Beijing has been reeling from a slew of bad cab drivers and guilty felons. For most Westerners Christmas decorations in early November are seen as too early which means Londoners will be fed up with Christmas come September.

Over the last two weeks Beijing has been cracking down on its cab problem. Teams were out across the city looking for taxi drivers that refused fares when on duty or that took roundabout routes to boost fares, frequent occurrences for anyone that’s been stuck hailing down empty cabs for any length of time. If you think Beijing cabs are bad you’re in good company. A weibo survey found Beijing “had the most unwilling or dishonest drivers.”

How dishonest are some drivers? One man was just given a 20 month sentence for cause 27 accidents in 9 months. According to reports the driver purposefully got into “not at fault” accidents in order to get money off the other drivers for not calling the cops. He then would call the cops.

Not all transportation news is bad. Beijing has made new amendments for the welfare for the physically disabled, which includes free bus rides. Whether this new amendment applies to foreigners is uncertain.

Beating out the multiple accident cabbie is a Beijing robber who plead guilty to over 500 crimes. Named “Beijing’s master thief” his range of crimes including thefts and robberies netted him over 7.5 million RMB.

China is having some interesting effects well beyond its borders. The Brits apparently have China to thank for its current Christmas shopping which began in July. High numbers of Chinese tourists that love to shop for Christmas decorations and kitsch are making stores role out the trees, Santas and elves nearly half a year in advance.

In less festive news, Xinhua is continuing the trend of Chinese ads in Times Square. The News Agency bought a big ad space at the new York landmark leaving us to wonder what will pop up next.