BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese policewoman who breastfed babies orphaned during last month’s earthquake has been given a better job, prompting online protests that promotions should be awarded on merit, not merely for good deeds.

Jiang Xiaojuan, 30, left her own baby with her parents and took part in the disaster relief work, breastfeeding nine babies, earning her the nickname of “the police mum” in the press.

She has since been awarded titles of “hero and model police officer” and “excellent member of the Communist Party”, was appointed to the Communist Party of China Committee of the Jiangyou Public Security Bureau and became the bureau’s vice commissar, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

Jiangyou, population 850,000, is a city near the epicentre of the May 12 Sichuan quake which killed more than 69,000 people with thousands still missing.

“Many people voiced objections when the Jiangyou government sought public opinion after making the promotion,” Xinhua said. “They said an official position should not be used to promote a moral model.”

There were also supporters of Jiang’s promotion, saying that what she did showed she was a good public servant.

LONDON (Reuters) – Far from being heavy, lumbering and clumsy, pregnant women are often fascinating, beautiful and serene, according to the artistic director of one British ballet company.

And to prove it, Balletlorent is recruiting 12 pregnant women to star in a dance production alongside six professional ballet dancers.

“MaEternal” will be performed in the northern English city of Newcastle in May and is offering the 12 who get through the auditions “a chance to share with an audience the beauty of what it means to carry the life of another within you.”

Artistic Director Liv Lorent, who, coincidentally, is pregnant herself, says she has always been keen to combine trained dancers with people from all ages and stages in life to make her ballet productions richer.

“I’ve done projects in the past where I have invited all sorts of people — children, old people, builders, footballers doctors, all sorts — to take part,” she told Reuters.

“This is another development of a long-held wish to mix up the different physical types in my choreography. The shape of people changes the way they move, and I like that very much.”

She notes the stark contrast between the typically lithe light and muscular physique of a dancer, and the softer, rounder contours of a pregnant woman, and delights in it.

“You can’t get a 25-year-old size 8 ballet dancer type body to move with the weight, the gravitas or the sheer cheerful spirit a pregnant woman,” she said.

Lorent promises that no previous dance experience is necessary to audition for a part in MaEternal. The only requirement is that anyone wishing to take part should be up to 32 weeks by the time of the performance on May, 14. Beyond that, she says, the risk is too high of unplanned dramas on stage.

As well as recruiting 12 pregnant women, Lorent has also signed up Lynn Campbell, an active birth therapist who runs pregnancy classes in and around Newcastle, to advise on the movements and abilities of expectant mothers.

“Pregnant women do sometimes feel heavy and weighed down by all the changes, but sometimes they also feel fascinating and beautiful and amazing,” Campbell told Reuters.

“Culturally we don’t always have the words to celebrate the beauty of pregnancy, and although people are often fascinated by it, they don’t know how to express that, so the say things like “Aren’t you big!”

“So this is a real opportunity for pregnant women to be seen in a new way.”