Henan TV reporter Fu Zhenzhong tells yWeekend the blow-by-blow of how he launched the Shanxi brick kiln investigation that exploded into a still-raging national controversy.
Fu went undercover for much of the investigation, at one point stripping off his shirt and speaking in a Henan accent to pose as a parent in search of his child. ESWN has the translation:
“Can we take this Henan child with us?” I asked.
“That is unacceptable. I spend 400 yuan to buy him.” The subcontractor and the kiln owner both refused. The kiln owner also got some villagers to surround us. When I saw that things were going badly, I dialed 110 (note: the police).
There was a standoff of about ten minutes or so. The owner charged over and he raised his left hand which was holding a cigarette. Someone to this left side held him back. After a while, the owner charged over again but this time the police stopped him. The policeman who stopped the owner was in his 40’s; he was physically strong and he wore a checkered t-shirt. [Full Text]
Fu features heavily in a recent China Daily editorial advocating for an increase in investigative journalism cited earlier by CDT here.
