At 2:15pm protesters rolled out another long banner, this time white with black letters. The police, who earlier voiced that the red banner [reading "Anning oil refinery, don’t put our home into environmental hell!"] was too provocative, sent a small troop to inspect the white banner which read “Give me back beautiful Kunming! We want to survive! We want to be healthy! PX project, get out of Kunming!” Protesters rushed to engage with the police, asking whether or not the banner passed muster. With a supportive and encouraging nod from a police captain, the crowd burst into applause and paraded the banner around the square. […]

[…] Some media outlets reported cell phone service disruption at the protest zone. I personally did not experience this. No organization or local NGO announced themselves as the protest organizer and no names of organizations have been named by media outlets. At the same time, media reports have given very little credit to the protesters for maintaining civility (not a guarantee for Chinese demonstrations) and to the police force for patiently allowing (and thus softly promoting the demonstration). After all, Kunming’s security forces have to breathe the city’s air just the same as anyone.

Protesters are awaiting public announcement from the city or provincial government on the status of the PX plant. They are calling for greater transparency in the approval process and disclosure of the project’s environmental assessment. Until these results are delivered, this issue is likely to gain momentum among Kunming’s citizens making the 5/4 protest the first of many. […]

In contrast with the Kunming demonstration, planned protests in Chengdu on the same day were met with a obstructive tactics such as a “weekend-long earthquake drill” and—as NPR’s Louisa Lim reported—a rescheduled weekend:

The tentacles of the stability-maintenance machine go deep, and all of them swung into action in Chengdu. A woman who’d forwarded a message about the protest on social media was forced to apologize on television earlier in the week. At least 10 dissidents were put under house arrest or forced to “go on holiday,” according to a local human rights website. Meanwhile, employees at state-run work units were warned that they’d be sacked if they protested.

Then there was an enormous leafleting campaign. Households received letters from the government calling for “everyone to stand firm and not believe rumors, and not participate [in protests] in order to prevent people with other motives from seizing this opportunity to create turmoil.” The letters had the unintended effect of bringing the Pengzhou plant to the attention of those who hadn’t already heard about it, creating an even greater groundswell of suppressed discontent.

[…] Since any attempt to protest would clearly have been unwise, some citizens protested in silence by wearing facemasks. Given the levels of pollution, however, this was ineffective. Others commented wryly that the police show of force represented a new “Chengdu model” of dissent, where the actual marching had been outsourced to the security forces.

An editorial in the state-owned Global Times argued that heavy industry projects are economically necessary, but that trying to brush public concerns aside is the wrong approach:

China’s economic development is inseparable from the development of heavy chemical projects. However, the reality is that residents do not want to pay for China’s overall situation at the price of their living environment.

Questions over the development of heavy chemical projects are mainly discussed by local governments and enterprises. Governments have good intentions, with the goals of developing the economy and creating employment, while the public focuses on environmental situation. It has become a stalemate.

To break through this deadlock, local governments should make ordinary people’s environmental anxieties their first concern. They should represent ordinary people’s ecological and comprehensive interests and strive for these interests. Problems will be solved in a much more orderly and rational manner if governments are trusted by public in this regard.

[…] Hanging on to outdated social governance approaches will only make things worse. There is always a way out for heavy chemical projects. Current problems come from the methods of dealing with them.

Also at Global Times, a report on the protests by Chang Meng and Duan Wuning stressed the importance of timely transparency surrounding industrial projects:

“PX is a basic petrochemical raw material and is safe if proper protocols are followed. People are scared because there is a lack of access to information or participation in the projects,” Jin Yong, a leading petrochemical expert at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

[…] Information disclosure for both projects was opaque and came out late under public pressure.

“We met with the project committee in April, which was the first public communication event after the construction for two years,” a staffer of Green Kunming, a local environmental NGO, told the Global Times.

“Public rights to information access, participation in environmental policies and judicial remedies are key to solving these situations and preventing the EIA from being manipulated by developers and officials,” Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chengdu, Chengdu PX, economic development, environmental protests, Kunming, Kunming PX, Ma Jun, protests, PX, Sichuan, stability maintenance, transparency, Yunnan
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Shanghai resident’s are protesting a new lithium ion battery factory.

Factory Protest Planned for Saturday: Chengdu netizens have been calling for residents to “take a walk” on Jiuyan Bridge tomorrow to protest the start of operations at the new Pengzhou Petrochemicals factory. Weibo about Pengzhou Petrochemicals have been deleted and blocked, while the Chengdu government has publicly stated that it has arrested netizens who have “disseminated rumors of protest.” On May 4th, 2008, residents protested the construction of the same factory.

Today, Weibo user Song Shinan posted that the authorities are requiring secondary school and university students to attend class on Saturday to keep them from protesting. Song’s account has since been deleted. Coincidentally, state media have also been covering the State Council Information Office’s “focused attack on rumor-mongering Weibo VIPs.”

• May Fourth+take a walk (5月4日+散步)
• May Fourth+demonstrate (5月4日+示威)

Shanghaiers Protest Battery Factory: Residents of Shanghai’s Songjiang district are protesting the construction of a lithium ion battery plant by Shanghai Guoxuan Electronics Ltd., fearing the manufacturing process will contaminate the water.

• Guoxuan (国轩)
• battery factory (电池厂)

Netizens Sleuth Poisoning Case: In 1994, then Tsinghua University student Zhu Ling was poisoned with thallium, most likely by her politically connected roommate. The bright, ambitious young woman suffered severe neurological damage. She is now paralyzed, nearly blind, and intellectually impaired. Netizens recently “reopened” her unsolved case on Weibo. Offbeat China looks at the history of case and its significance as a test of China’s rule of law, while Fei Chang Dao has tracked online censorship of netizen inquiry and demand for justice.

• Zhu Ling (朱令)
• Sun Wei (孙维): Zhu’s former roommate at Tsinghua.
• thallium poisoning (铊中毒)
• Tsinghua+poisoning (清华+中毒)
• Tsinghua+poison (清华+投毒)
• thallium (铊)

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, Chengdu, Chengdu PX, environmental protests, Internet censorship, Ministry of Truth, Sensitive Words Series, Shanghai, Songjiang factory protest, Tsinghua University, weibo
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The “Nine Gentlemen”: Nine activists were arrested last week after demanding that public servants disclose their financial assets, including Zhao Changqing and human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi. Another protester, Li Wei, is missing, as activist Hu Jia explains:

@hu_jia: Li Wei is missing. No official documentation of his arrest has been received, as opposed to the other nine. RT @tengbiao: Yuan Dong, Zhang Baocheng, Ma Xinli, Hou Xin, Zhao Changqing, Ding Jiaxi, Wang Yonghong, Sun Hanhui, Li Wei, and Qi Yueying. However you count it, there are 10. The last two must have been detained as criminals. Were others arrested for calling for financial disclosure? #ninegentlemenoffinancialdisclosure

李蔚失踪，没有接到刑事拘留的法律文书。而其他九位都有。RT@tengbiao 袁冬、张宝成、马新立、候欣、赵常青、丁家喜、王永红、孙含会、李蔚、齐月英。怎麼算都是10個啊。後兩位應該也確定是被刑事拘留了。不知道還有沒有其他因為呼籲財產公示被刑拘的？#财产公示九君子

— Hu Jia 胡佳 (@hu_jia) April 28, 2013

• financial disclosure+nine gentlemen (财产公示+九君子)
• Zhao Changqing (赵长青)
• Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜)

Yuan Dong, one of the “nine gentlemen” arrested after publicly calling on officials to disclose their financial assets. (@azurefoxlee)

“Terrorist” Attack in Xinjiang: 21 died last week in clashes between the police and ethnic Uyghurs in Kashgar, a prefecture-level town which borders Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The Chinese authorities and have accused the U.S. of a double standard for refusing to call this a “terrorist act.”

• Selibuya (色力布亚): The town in Kashgar Prefecture where the officers were killed.
• World Uyghur Congress (世维会)

Other:

• 25th anniversary (25周年): It is unclear why this is blocked. Reader suggestions are welcome.

Additionally, the following search terms have been blocked as of April 27.

Chengdu Environmental Protest: Chengdu netizens have objected to the construction of a petrochemical plant planned for Pengzhou, a town within the city limits. A number of netizens have suggested demonstrating against the project on May 4th, Youth Day, on Jiuyan Bridge, the site of May 4, 2008 protests against a p-Xylene (PX) plant in Pengzhou. On Weibo, the Chengdu authorities announced that they had arrested those calling for the demonstration, which they condemned as “inciting illegal assembly.”

• Chengdu PX project (成都PX项目)
• May 4th+Jiuyan Bridge+take a walk (5月4日+九眼桥+散步)
• Pengzhou+PX (彭州+PX)
• Pengzhou+petrochemicals (彭州+石化): retested

Other:

• Real Estate Party (地产党): A reference to the property owned by Party officials, both at home and abroad.

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words posts (April 27 and April 29).

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, Chengdu, Chengdu PX, Ding Jiaxi, environmental protests, financial disclosure, Internet censorship, Ministry of Truth, protests, PX, Sensitive Words Series, Uyghurs, weibo, Xinjiang, Zhao Changqing
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Leadership Transition:

• Tao-Bao (涛宝): Playing on the name of the online shopping site Taobao, this is a term of endearment for Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. See the “prime minister and chairman edit” of Fish Leong‘s “Sadly, It’s Not You” below.
• Chief Xi (席总): 席 Xí sounds the same as 习 Xí, as in Xi Jinping.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chengdu Construction Woes: Chengdu Party Secretary Huang Xinchu has undertaken major construction in the city, snarling traffic, stirring up dust, and irking residents.
• Digger Huang (黄挖挖): A nickname for Huang Xinchu. Coincidentally, “Digger Huang” (黄挖挖 Huáng Wāwā) sounds similar to “Baby Huang” (黄娃娃 Huáng Wáwa).
• Huang WW (黄WW)
• Huang Xinchu + end class (黄新初+下课): Netizens are complaining about Huang; some hope he will “leave the classroom” and step down from his post.
• Pengzhou + petrochemical industry (彭州+石化): An oil refinery project is already complete in nearby Pengzhou.

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, Chengdu, Chengdu PX, Hu Jintao, Huang Xinchu, Internet censorship, leadership transition, Ministry of Truth, Sensitive Words Series, taobao, weibo, Wen Jiabao, Xi Jinping
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In November 2011, just days after Mr Heywood’s body was discovered inside a Chongqing hotel room, Mr Wang allegedly disguised himself as an “old man” and “snuck” into the British Consulate-General in the city of Guangzhou.

[...] A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Beijing said: “We don’t have any record of any such meeting. We have no record of Wang Lijun visiting the consulate at that time.”

[...] Before fleeing to the US consulate in Chengdu on February 6 2012, Mr Wang “contacted officials at the consulates of the United Kingdom and Germany in Chongqing”.

British officials have confirmed that Mr Wang did set up a meeting at the UK consulate in Chongqing but say he failed to show up.

See more on Wang Lijun and Bo Xilai via CDT.

© Mengyu Dong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: asylum, Bo Xilai, Britain, Chengdu, Chongqing, defection, Guangzhou, United Kingdom, Wang Lijun
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Seasoned at playing the provocateur, Mr Li moved from reporting on sport to writing essays on politics and society soon after the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, which killed more than 80,000 people. His writing on the struggles of common people after the disaster brought his work to a whole new audience of internet-savvy young Chinese. He went on to publish a novel in 2011, “Li Kele Protests Demolitions”. Mr Li’s “Li Kele” was an immediate hit; the descriptions of ordinary people who united together to fight faceless forces and venality propelled the writer into the arms of a more organized new audience: China’s advocates for social reform.

Later that year Mr Li announced that he would be running for public office in Chengdu as an independent. Although his election campaign was never allowed to get under way (candidates for office are carefully screened by the Communist Party and eventually Mr Li failed his background check), he gained a new degree of credibility. Here, it seemed, was a man who would back up his words with actions.

At the book launch in Chengdu, an elderly man named Liu Shahe sat behind Mr Li. Mr Liu is one of the signatories of Charter 08, the document demanding a list political reforms that Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel laureate, was jailed for drafting. Mr Li tweeted Mr Liu’s words to him—“You man of words, just keep writing”—and said the encouragement from the older man had reduced him to tears.

Li has answered questions about the silent signing in Chengdu on Sina Weibo, explaining why he opted to go through with the event, and why a book published through official channels had encountered such opposition. Introducing his partial translation at China Media Project, David Bandurski commented that the disruptions have only made Li’s voice louder.

In Guangzhou, the final leg of Li’s tour, the signing was cancelled at the last minute because the building where it was being hosted was closed for fire safety inspections.

Li Chengpeng apologized to his readers for the Guangzhou cancellation with a tongue-in-cheek post to his Sina Weibo account playing on the title of his book [Everybody in the World Knows]: “Once again I apologize to everyone: Because fire safety inspections are happening at the Tianya Building, outsiders cannot go in, and therefore my book signing for readers is cancelled. I’m accepting this fact, because this place is really in need of a fire safety inspection. Everybody in the world knows, fire safety is really important.”

For all of its hitches and hijinks, Li Chengpeng’s book tour illustrates the limitations of control in the era of social media. Li’s “silent” signing in Chengdu was anything but silent — it was broadcast loudly across the internet. Every leg of his tour became the subject of fevered discussion online, pitting the values of speech and openness against controls that appeared foolish and anachronistic.

See more about and by Li Chengpeng via CDT.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2008 Sichuan earthquake, books, Charter 08, Chengdu, corruption, David Bandurski, Guangzhou, Li Chengpeng, Liu Xiaobo, local elections, sina weibo, soccer, social media
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Li wore a black face mask in silent protest at his Chengdu book signing.

On January 11, popular writer and critic Li Chengpeng reported on Weibo that he had received orders not to speak at his book signing in Chengdu the next day. Li was also prohibited from asking questions of the audience. Even special guests, among them prominent writers who have clashed with the authorities before, were forbidden from speaking:

@lichengpeng: Someone sent me strict orders from the higher-ups in the middle of the night: At my Chengdu book signing on the 12th, readers are forbidden to ask me questions; I am forbidden from speaking or making opening remarks. I can’t even say “Happy New Year” or “thank you.” I am forbidden from introducing Liu Shahe, Ran Yunfei, and all other special guests; I cannot ask them questions, and they cannot say a word, not even “Happy New Year.” They can only sit in the corner… This deeply violates my understanding of respect. They are insane. Thinking…

@李承鹏：深夜有人匆忙传达上峰死命令：12日成都签售，不准读者向我提问、不准我说话，不准我致开场白，连“新年好，谢谢你们”也不准说，不准介绍流沙 河、冉云飞及所有嘉宾名字，不准向他们提问，也不准他们说话，连“新年好”也不准说。他们只能坐在角落…我深觉这这违背了我对尊严的理解。他们疯了。思考中…

His new book, The Whole World Knows, is a collection of essays on contemporary Chinese society. It tackles sensitive issues like the “tofu dregs” schools which collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the disastrous corner-cutting laid bare by the Wenzhou high-speed rail crash.

Li later reposted a weibo from a reader at the book signing:

@lichengpeng: RT: @alexandermoo: At the scene where these notices were given, I’ve heard the voices of Li Yawei, Ran Yunfei, and many others. I can verify that two Xinhua Bookstore staff are present as well… Right now I’m still on the phone with bookstore comrades. My thoughts: this shows the utmost disrespect to the readers, some of whom rushed all the way from Shanghai just for this event. They don’t want to look at a bunch of taciturn prostheses. The latest news: the authorities have notified the speakers that they may not utter a single word.

@李承鹏：回复@拉斯文_本德:接到通知的现场，有李亚伟冉云飞等数人听到，两位新华书店也可证明…现在仍与书店同志电话中。我认为：这完全无视读者的尊严，有读者专门从上海赶来。他们不想看到一群觉沉默的假肢。最新消息：上级通知，绝不许说一句话。

Weibo fans rallied to Li’s side:

@joylovingheart: If they don’t let them speak, they might as well tape their mouths shut.

@爱乐的心: 不让说话，那就用胶布把嘴贴起来签售

@ziyueqingye: They get sent to the firing squad for saying “Happy New Year”? This expands my understanding of limiting freedom of speech.

@owlmoon豆丁兔：说新年好会被枪毙吗？我对限制言论自由的理解又高一层了

@youyi009: What are they [the authorities] afraid of? What exactly is it that they dread?

@幽壹：它们怕什么？究竟在惧怕什么？

@xieliang7: If they can’t speak, can they tweet? They can communicate via Weibo at the book signing.

@谢良7：不说话可以发微博吗 现场用微博交流

@Billsaid: Looks like Li Big Eyes should change his name to Li Don’t Speak. That’s sure to catch on.

@Billsaid：看来李大眼得改名叫李莫言了，这个笔名一定火。

@MountainUncle: I urge the higher-ups to offer free packing tape!

@山宅大叔：强烈要求上峰免费提供封口胶~！！

@ligelongClingclang: What the higher-ups mean is that the interests of the individual can’t influence the interests of the party-state. We must be united with absolute sincerity.

@李哥隆咚锵：上峰的意思是个人的利益不能影响党国的利益，要精诚团结

@nky888nky: Only after repeated prohibition is one unstoppable. They wish to cover you up, but instead you is all the more obvious. This is all free advertising. The voiceless is even more victorious in making his voice heard.

@可人如昱：屡禁才能不止，欲盖反而弥彰，这一切都是免费的广告。无声更胜有声。

@Wchengbo: The dynasty has changed, but the way of thought is unchangeable.

@W成波：朝代换了，思维换不了

Read more about the book signing kerfuffle from CDT and Global Voices.

Via CDT Chinese.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, Chengdu, freedom of speech, Li Chengpeng, Netizen Voices, sina weibo, weibo
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“I would hardly be here to buy Li’s book if not for what happened to him on Sunday,” one young man said. “I just came here to show my support for Li, a liberal-minded critic.”

[…] Meanwhile, dozens of protesters, most in their 40s or 50s and some wearing Mao Zedong badges, gathered outside the building.

One of the protesters said he was outraged by some of Li’s recent comments, such as labelling those who took to the streets in anti-Japanese demonstrations in Shenzhen “brain damaged”.

“Li is a typical traitor who does nothing more than distort history and mislead the public, particularly the young,” he said.

Also at the South China Morning Post, Laura Zhou had previously described Sunday’s altercation, over which Li is reportedly considering legal action.

Li Chengpeng, a former journalist, was punched in the head during an afternoon signing of his new book for readers at the Zhongguancun Bookstore in Haidian district, and another man was filmed throwing a packaged kitchen knife at Li.

The man who punched Li claimed to have a strong aversion to the content of Li’s new book, The Whole World Knows. The assailant was taken away by Beijing police, according to a post on the public security bureau’s microblog that night.

The new book is a collection of essays that include sensitive topics such as the shoddy quality of school buildings that collapsed and killed thousands of students during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the alleged cover-up of the 2011 Wenzhou train crash.

The knife incident, in which a man waited in line to present Li with the threatening “gift”, and then threw it at him when it was apparently rejected, was caught on video (via SCMP’s John Kennedy):

Click here to view the embedded video.

In contrast with the action in Beijing and Shenzhen, Li’s signing in Chengdu on Saturday was markedly subdued. Li had been ordered not to address the audience and wore a mask over his mouth in protest. Global Voices Online translated a weibo post Li sent before the event, together with a selection of other users’ reactions:

Someone just delivered a strict order: at my book signing event, I’m not allowed to talk; the readers are not allowed to ask me any questions; I can’t even introduce myself or say “ Happy New Year, Thank you”. I’m not even allowed to introduce the names of other guests at my event; they are not allowed to talk or answer any questions. They can only sit in the corner. I deeply feel it’s against my understanding of dignity. They are crazy.

王金明小伙[zh]: It’s the most depressing signing event I’ve ever experienced. There were many people on the spot but no sound. The policemen were guarding each corner. Li wore a mask and signed his book with the wrong date. His guests only appeared very shortly before being asked to step down. There were tears on Li’s face.

I suddenly discovered that the Communist Party has made creating a buzz into an art. Li Chengpeng’s book signing was just a small ordinary event, but after the Communist Party’s handling of it, it became a work of performance art that has spread throughout the world.

Bruce Humes and Sascha Matuszak blogged their accounts of the Shenzhen and Chengdu signings, respectively.

Scuffles between leftists and liberals also broke out outside the offices of the Southern Weekly newspaper, during protests over censorship of its New Year greeting. Li was particularly outspoken about the Southern Weekly affair. From an interview at Japan’s Asahi Shimbun:

To me, this feels as if the insult toward freedom of speech has been lifted up a level. I cannot stand it, and I believe many other people feel the same.

China’s Constitution recognizes freedom of speech. The new party leadership advocates the rule of law. It should therefore sponsor freedom of speech–but doesn’t. The reality is different.

[…] I’ve felt pressure. I’ve been braced to see my blog shut down. Yet, we are not challenging the government. We just want China to become a better country.

The fact that many people have raised their voice this time has great significance. This is the first step on a long road toward achieving freedom of speech.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2008 Sichuan earthquake, anti-Japan demonstrations 2012, Beijing, books, Chengdu, freedom of speech, leftists, Li Chengpeng, Mao Zedong, rule of law, Shenzhen, Southern Weekly, southern weekly protest 2013, train crash, wenzhou, writers
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The official, Li Chuncheng, 56, did not attend an important provincial Communist Party gathering on Tuesday and has not been seen in public since Nov. 19, the official Xinhua news agency said, without saying whether he had been detained. Although not on a career track that would be likely to take him to the highest echelons of the Chinese government, he was named at the party congress as one of 171 alternate members of the Central Committee; there are 205 full members.

Communist Party officials like Mr. Li face a sometimes harsh investigative process that is separate from the country’s judicial system, although party investigations can often lead to prosecution by the judiciary as well. Xinhua deleted its article about Mr. Li from its Web site early Wednesday afternoon, possibly a sign that public release of the announcement had not been fully vetted.

The investigation of Mr. Li comes as Xi Jinping, the new general secretary of the Communist Party, is trying to make an anticorruption campaign one of the first hallmarks of his tenure. Mr. Xi emphasized the fight against corruption in his inaugural address after taking office on Nov. 15, and in his first speech to the Politburo he warned that failing to act against corruption would “doom the party and the state.”

Reuters reports that official Chinese media announced the investigation before taking reports down:

Sichuan party authorities announced the investigation on Monday and Li did not appear as scheduled at a propaganda meeting on Tuesday, the media said.

However, by early afternoon the Youth Daily and Xinhua websites had deleted their reports on Li without explanation. Calls to the Sichuan government seeking comment went unanswered.

The South China Morning Post looks at Li’s background and political rise:

From the 1970s to 1998, Li spent most of his time in Harbin , Heilongjiang , first as a student and then in various positions, including deputy chief of the city’s branch of the Communist Youth League and deputy mayor.

He was appointed deputy mayor of Chengdu , Sichuan’s provincial capital, in 1998, and promoted to mayor in 2001. Four years later, he was named party chief of Chengdu. He became the province’s deputy party chief in September last year. He was regarded as a key architect of Chengdu’s building boom, and dismayed Premier Wen Jiabao with a vanity project in 2008, after the province was hit by a massive earthquake.

Staff began moving into a new city government headquarters, which reportedly cost more than US$176 million, following the earthquake. Wen visited the headquarters after travelling to the quake-hit area, but left “in disgust, having spent less than three minutes in it”, according to a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks last year.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: anti-corruption, Chengdu, corruption, high-level corruption, li chuncheng, Sichuan
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The yellow sign at top right reads, “Apologies: We will temporarily stop selling knives during the ‘18th Party Congress’ period.”

The 18th Party Congress has brought Beijing under lock-down, while cities far from the center have also felt the effects of heightened security during China’s leadership transition. CDT Chinese has amassed comments, cartoons, and images of “Sparta.” CDT English will continue to post translations of selected commentaries during the congress. Read more in the series at CDT Chinese, and learn about the developments of the congress from CDT English.

UnitedFamilyPharmacistJiLianmei: Anyone else out there who doesn’t pay attention to their gas meter? After work today, my car ran about two feet before puttering to a halt right in the middle of an intersection. Uncle Traffic Officer helped me push my car to the side of the road and pointed me towards a nearby gas station to buy a canister of gas. I listened to his advice and walked over two kilometers to the gas station. But when I got there, the attendant at the gas station said, “Who’d have the audacity sell you a loose container of gas before the 18th Party Congress?” Left with no other choice, I hailed a cab. Being a noble Beijing man, the cabby drove me back to my car, then helped me drag it all the way back to the gas station.

和 睦家药师冀连梅：开车不看油表的人有木有？今晚下班车没开几步就停在十字路口不动了，交警叔叔帮我把车推到边上，指引我去附近加油站买桶油，我信了他的 话，走了两里多地到了加油站，加油站人说：十八大前谁敢散着卖油给你啊？无奈，拦了辆出租车，北京的哥真仗义，把我载到我车旁边，然后帮我把车拖到了加油 站

Mr.KongZhiyong: [Beijing Residents Forbidden to Release Pigeons] The Meetings open next week. In order to ensure security during The Meeting, Beijing residents are forbidden from releasing pigeons. According to the media, Beijing residents must keep pigeons locked in their cages during The Meeting. Pigeons must not be released and allowed to fly freely about. I reckon Beijing taxi passengers will be unable to freely roll down their windows as well.

孔智勇先生：【北京市民不准放鸽子】 会议下周开幕，为确保会议期间治安，禁止北京市民放鸽子。 媒体说，会议期间，北京市民必须把鸽子关在龙子里，不能把鸽子放出来，让鸽子乱飞。在北京搭出租车，估计乘客也不能随便摇下车窗了。

BlackBoxChenLiaoyu: 1-8 Big, 1-8 Feel. Quite fitting. //@CatFoodCartoons: Security measures have increased significantly at the Hangzhou train station. Besides the normal set of security checks, a whole crew has just come over with metal detectors and has started feeling up all the passengers–just as we are waiting to board. Sigh, what’s it going to be like once the 18th Party Congress actually starts?

黑匣子陈廖宇: 1-8 大，1-8 摸，很配。//@猫粮的动画馆：杭州火车站安检明显加强，除了常规各种检查外，现在马上要等车了，竟然又过来一群乘务员，一个个拿着机器在你身上摸来摸去，哎，这18 大要真开的时候得什么样啊

GaoXiaosong: Censorship of songs has been unprecedentedly harsh as of late. Songs broadcast by major TV stations must not contain inauspicious lyrics, including such words as “death” or “down.” I just witnessed one program get cut off right as someone sang “Love Even unto Death” [a popular love ballad by Taiwanese artist Shin]. All those in the media industry should be aware of this.

高晓松：最近歌曲审查空前严格起来，大电视台播出的歌曲不能带有“死”“下”等各种不吉利字眼。刚眼看着一歌手翻唱＜死了都要爱＞被毙，提醒下同行。

Kujes: I usually walk my daughter right up to the door of her classroom, but starting Monday, I’ll only be able to walk her to the gate of the school because “parents are forbidden from entering the school grounds.” As for the reason, anyone want to venture to guess? Of course, during this special time, the reason for odd occurrences of any sort is quite apparent. Uncle Security Guard need only to say one word: Sparta!

萌她爹-Kujes：本来送女儿到教室门口的，周一起只能送到校门口了，曰：家长不准进入校园。理由嘛，大家要不要猜一下？好吧，其实这个时间节点出现奇怪的事情理由不用猜也很明显，保安蜀黍只说了三个字：斯巴达！

FanWei: [Urgent Notice: ID Now Needed in Imperial Capital Bathhouses--Children Included!] Greetings, esteemed patron. According to Beijing Public Security Bureau directives regarding the [18th Party Congress], all bathhouse patrons (including children) must present valid ID when checking in. Thank you for your support and understanding!

Mu’er: [18th Party Congress Security Measures Put People At Ease] With the 18th Party Congress about to begin, Beijing is mobilizing over 1.4 million security volunteers. Some stores are requiring customers to present ID in order to purchase remote-controlled toy planes. Some supermarkets have taken kitchen knives off the shelves. All activities that include the release of balloons have been prohibited. Internet reports say that those who wish to take a cab to Chang’an Avenue must fill out a form… Not only is security receiving unprecedented attention, but the minutest details are being taken care of. It sure puts people’s safety concerns to rest.

木尔：【十八大安保令人放心】十八大即将来临，北京市各方齐动员，140万志愿者将参加安保工作、部分商场要求实名购买遥控飞机、部分超市菜刀下架、十八大期间禁止施放气球活动、网传打的去长安街要填表。。。这次安保工作不仅空前重视，而且细致入微，令人放心啊。

LiaoShenEveningPaper: [Starting Today, Out-of-Town Cars Entering Beijing Must Obtain a Pass] A reporter learned from the department of traffic police that from midnight November 1 through 24:00 hours on November 18, Beijing will enact provisional transportation measures on all out-of-town vehicles entering the city. The measures include the stipulation that all drivers of out-of-town passenger vehicles wishing to drive within the Fifth Ring Road (including driving on Fifth Ring Road) must obtain a pass. Passes will be valid for three days. Qilu Evening Paper.

辽沈晚报：【今起外地车进京须办通行证】记者从交警部门了解到，自11月1日0时起至11月18日24时止，北京对外省、区、市进京机动车将采取临时交通管 理措施，其中载客汽车需进入五环路以内道路(含五环路)行驶的，需要办理进京客车通行证件，证件有效期为3天。齐鲁晚报

Vista: [Beijing Requires 17 Bus Lines Passing Through Political Centers to Seal Bus Windows] The Beijing City Transportation Commission will enact special provisions effective during the 18th Party Congress. The provisions require that all transportation work units firmly establish a lofty sense of political responsibility and mission. The 110,000 transportation volunteers are encouraged to wear red armbands. Buses servicing any of the 17 routes that pass through political centers must enact effective measures to seal the bus windows. Guard sternly against such problems as the dissemination of pamphlets from bus windows. The Beijing City Transportation Commission. http://t.cn/zldnnh2

Vista 看天下：【北京要求17条途径政治中心区域公交车封闭车窗】北京市交委制订十大专项行动，要求交通行业各单位牢固树立崇高的政治责任感和历史使命感，鼓励 11万交通志愿者戴红袖标，途经政治中心区的17条重点线路车辆要全面采取有效措施封闭车窗，严密防范抛撒传单等问题的发生。北京市交通委http://t.cn/zldnnh2

FanJianchuan: 12,000 Chengdu police go on the offensive; The 20 days of the 18th Party Congress War have kicked into gear. Last night, the call to war was rung throughout the province. And the spoils? In Wuhou District, a Lamborghini driver was fined for not displaying a license plate. In Chenghua District, a burglar was apprehended. In Jinniu District, a thief was caught stealing steel pipes. In Qingyang District, a computer thief was caught. In Quanyi District, a modified pistol was discovered in a car. In Pengzhou City, two dens where fake cigarettes were being made were destroyed.

樊建川：成都1•2万警力出击，十八大安保决战20天行动，昨晚，全省打响首战，战果：武候区兰博基尼未挂车牌被处罚，成华区抓住入室盗窃者，金牛区拦下偷钢管者，青羊区抓住偷电脑者，龙泉驿区在轿内搜出改装手枪，彭州巿捣毁两制售假烟窝点。

Headlines, from top down: 12,000 Chengdu Police On the Offensive; Modified Hand Gun Discovered Under Car Seat; The 20-Day 18th Party Congress War Kicks into Gear.

RememberCareer: As I was taking a cab to work just now, I was confused when the cabby took a detour. “The city put out a directive that forbids taxis from driving on Chang’an Avenue between East Fourth Ring Road to West Fourth Ring Road from November 1 through 20. In order to comply, taxicab drivers can refuse to take passengers or take detours without being considered in violation the rules,” he said. I was at once angry and speechless. Then he pointed to the car window and told me that all car window cranks had to be dismantled as well, and power lines were cut to electronic windows. I fell silent.

老记生涯： 刚才坐出租车去单位，司机绕道，我疑惑，他解释：市里通知，长安街一线从东四环一直到西四环全程出租车禁止，时间从11月1日至20日。为此，出租司机可 以拒载，可以绕道，一律不算违规。我又愤怒又无语。他指车窗又告诉我，车窗摇手全部拆掉了，电动车窗把电线拆掉了，不拆不许营运！我沉默。

Window cranks have been removed from Beijing taxis.

LinChufang: When I was taking a cab home a bit ago, I asked the driver, “Is your company really requiring you to keep the windows closed?” He said yes. “Did they really make you take out the window cranks in the rear?” He said yes. “What if the windows were electric?” He said they can be locked from the front. “And what about driving through sensitive areas?” He said the door must be locked. “But who would know if you didn’t lock the doors?” He said there were people checking. It seems the online rumors were true. I guess I just don’t have much of an imagination. How naïve I am!

林楚方：刚打车回家，我问司机，公司真要求你们窗户必须关着吗？他说是的；真要求卸掉后面窗户的摇把儿吗？他说是的；如果是自动窗户没摇把儿呢？他说从前面 锁；如果路过敏感地带呢？他说锁车门；但你不锁谁知道？他说专门有人查。看来网上那个帖子不是谣言，只怪我想象力不够，太嫩啊！

Lisa: This morning I was lucky enough to hail a cab in which I was able to see that the rumors I heard yesterday were true. It’s all about celebrating “Sparta.”

Lisa的思享空间：早晨有幸打到一辆出租车，昨天听说的一事果然看到了，都是为了喜迎斯巴达。

A man passes through security holding his copy of Little Li Flying Dagger, a popular martial arts series. At the other end, the “dagger” is gone from the book cover.

MurongAoao: Going through security.

慕容嗷嗷：过安检。

Guevara: [Knife-sliced Noodles] During the Yuan Dynasty [when China was under Mongol rule], in order to prevent the Han from uprising, it was decreed that every ten families would share one kitchen knife. One day, an old woman made dough for noodles and sent an old man to retrieve the shared knife. But the man discovered that someone else had already taken the knife. On his way home, the man found a thin piece of metal on the ground. The metal was too thin and soft to properly cut noodles, so the old woman had no choice but to stand next to the pot and cut one noodle at a time into it. And voila! Knife-sliced noodles were born. To this day, knives used to cut knife-sliced noodles are still sheets of metal. You don’t even need to present ID to buy one.

格 瓦拉：【刀削面】元朝为防止汉人造反，规定十户用一把菜刀，轮流使用，用后再交回。一天老婆婆和好面团，让老汉取刀，结果刀被别人取走，老汉返回路上捡了 一块薄铁皮，铁皮薄而软不能切面条。老婆婆只好站在锅边砍面，面一片片落入锅内……刀削面诞生了，现在削面的刀也是铁片状，不需要实名就可以买得到。

Via CDT Chinese. Translation by Little Bluegill.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 18th party congress, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, leadership transition, Netizen Voices, stability maintenance
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Zhang Xianjun just returned from a factory in Guangzhou, where he assembled plastic parts. He left home ten years ago, joining a quarter of a billion other Chinese in the largest human migration the world has known. But times have changed. These days, factories are migrating. Companies are relocating manufacturing from China’s coast to inland provinces like Sichuan and Henan, where the labor came from in the first place. Zhang can now choose between making iPads at Foxconn or microprocessors at Intel. Both companies are hiring here. “Everything here has modernized,” says Zhang, “I live three hours away in a small town. Now my hometown even has an industrial park where I could work. It’s a big change.”

After years of focusing on its coast, China is now investing in its interior. Chengdu, for example, enjoyed fifteen percent GDP growth last year. Ben Schwall is a factory consultant in the former boomtown of Dongguan. He says all of this began in 2009, after the financial crisis in the U.S. Americans stopped buying things, and millions of Chinese factory workers were suddenly unemployed. They returned home and realized home wasn’t so bad anymore. “Cost of living was a lot cheaper,” says Schwall, “You can live at home. Mom cooks good. you’re not locked in a dorm room with six people. You can perhaps sleep with your wife, you can see your children. Hey! Being at home was not so bad.”

Listen to the full report here:

This is the third story in a series by Schmitz on the End of the Great Migration. Listen to the previous two episodes:
The end of the Great Migration: A factory town’s downward slide
The end of the Great Migration: Foreign companies look to China’s interior

Read more about China’s migrant workers, via CDT.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chengdu, migrant workers, rural development
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Wang, the former vice mayor and police chief of southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, was charged with several crimes and received a combined punishment for all offenses, according to a verdict announced by the Chengdu City Intermediate People’s Court in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Wang received seven years in prison for the charge of bending the law for selfish ends, two years in prison and deprivation of his political rights for one year for the charge of defection, two years in prison for the power abuse charge and nine years in prison for the charge of bribe-taking. He received a combined punishment of 15 years in prison and deprivation of his political rights for one year.

Wang stated to the court that he would not appeal the sentence.

Defence lawyer Wang Yuncai suggested to The Telegraph’s Malcolm Moore, however, that there is some possibility of Wang’s early release on medical grounds:

“I cannot say how many years he will serve,” she said. “If he gets the chance to go to a hospital for a serious illness then there is no minimum sentence that he will have to serve.” She declined to comment further.

Mr Wang appeared in rosy health at his trial, and clips of him giving evidence, dressed not in the standard orange boiler suit of Chinese prisoners but in a crisp white shirt, were broadcast on national television.

However, one diplomatic source suggested in the run-up to his trial that he was in poor physical and mental health.

A psychiatrist who knew Mr Wang in Chongqing also said he exhibited “clear signs of mental disturbance” in the days before he fled to the US consulate in February.

Wang’s sentence is the latest omen of the fate of his former superior, Bo Xilai, for whom its relative lightness—Wang could have faced the death penalty—may be a bad sign. A nine-page Xinhua account of Wang’s trial explained last week that the defence had sought a reduced sentence in recognition of his “meritorious reporting” of others’ crimes. The account also implied that Bo had been aware of his wife Gu Kailai’s killing of Neil Heywood for over a week before Wang finally brought it to light, suggesting his complicity in the cover-up for which Wang, Gu and several others have already been prosecuted.

Caixin editor-in-chief Hu Shuli alluded to the possibility of a Bo trial in an editorial on Friday:

The magnitude of power Wang had at his disposal during the famous Chongqing “anti-mafia” campaign and the cover-up of Heywood’s death was a public outrage. But even more egregious was just how quickly local political and police forces moved to smother Wang when he fell out of favor with the Bo family.

The rule of law is written in China’s constitution, and states that consensus between the ruling party and the public is a goal. The trials of Bogu and Wang, and the shards of truth that have since emerged, were an important exercise in the rule of law.

According to the prosecutor, Wang “revealed important information of others’ legal activities” and “played an important role in the investigation of relevant cases.” Perhaps this represents only a prelude to another trial, which can serve as the final installment to the saga and open the door to legal reforms. While nothing has been a foregone conclusion with regard to the handling of the cases, it is clear that the establishment of a judicial system that can make horizontal and vertical checks on power must be implemented with greater urgency than ever.

In the wake of Wang’s trial and sentencing, the South China Morning Post examined how Bo’s criminal prosecution might come about:

So far, Bo has only been accused of breaching internal party discipline. But experts say the public citing of Bo’s angry rebuke of Wang has raised the likelihood that he too will face criminal charges, probably after the party congress.

Before then, party leaders could first expel Bo from the party and hand him over for criminal investigation.

“The prosecutors said Wang exposed leaders to major crimes by others,” said Li Zhuang, a Beijing lawyer who opposed Wang and Bo for mounting a sweeping crackdown on foes in the name of fighting organised crime. Bo was the likely target of Wang’s allegations, said Li.

“That was a slap around the ears that changed history,” Li said of Bo’s alleged actions against Wang. “Otherwise, Bo might still be in power and hoping to rise higher.”

Li himself faced charges, later dropped, of “fabricating evidence” in defence of a client during one of Bo’s signature anti-Mafia campaigns. AFP’s account today of Wang’s rise and fall describes how he personally “confronted Li at the airport, in front of dozens of police cars, their lights flashing, greeting him with the words ‘Li Zhuang, we meet again!’ before taking him into custody, the lawyer said.”

Another profile by The Guardian’s Tania Branigan also describes Wang’s expansive flamboyant side, as well as his extreme dedication to police work:

He claimed to have wrestled a suicide bomber to the floor just seconds before the man detonated his explosives. He boasted about love letters from awed young women and that his classmates at police academy had nicknamed him “tiger general”. But for all the self-mythologising, he succeeded in winning popular acclaim.

[…] Now 52, Wang, grew up in north-eastern Liaoning province and served in the army – where he met his wife – before joining the police, initially as a traffic policeman.

His devotion to duty was such that he chose to holiday in Beijing, where – rather than sightseeing – he spent hours standing at major road junctions, watching the traffic officers work.

Once back home, he used the photographs he had taken to practise his gestures and hand signals.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: abuse of power, Bo Xilai, bribery, Chengdu, Chongqing, corruption, defection, gu kailai, Hu Shuli, legal system, Li Zhuang, Neil Heywood, trials, Wang Lijun
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“I acknowledge and confess the guilt accused by the prosecuting body and show my repentance,” Wang said in his final statement at court.

“My acts were crimes, and I hope the serious impacts (caused by my acts) both at home and abroad would be eliminated through the trial. Meanwhile, I hope the trial will issue a warning to society and let more people draw lessons from me,” he said.

“For the Party organizations, people and relatives that have cared for me, I want to say here, sincerely, ‘I’m very, very sorry, I’ve let you down,’” Wang said.

Speaking to The New York Times, Wang’s lawyer endorsed the Xinhua account as, for the most part, a faithful record of the proceedings. It offers some explanation for the unannounced early start of what, it was initially reported, would be an “open” trial:

The Chengdu Municipal Intermediate People’s Court held a closed-door trial on Monday for Wang on the charges of defection and abuse of power and an open trial on the charges of bribe-taking and bending the law for selfish ends on Tuesday.

Despite the gravity of these crimes, Xinhua explained, Wang’s sentence is likely to be somewhat reduced because of his “meritorious reporting” of others’ criminal acts. These others may include his former superior, fallen Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai, who for the first time was officially linked to the events surrounding his wife’s murder of Neil Heywood. The Xinhua account describes what would turn out to be a pivotal moment, soon after which Wang fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu; Bo is not named, but his identity is clear.

Relevant testimonies from witnesses showed that on Jan. 28, Wang Lijun reported to the then leading official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Chongqing Committee that Bogu Kailai was highly suspected in the Nov. 15, 2011 Case. On the morning of Jan. 29, Wang Lijun was angrily rebuked and slapped in the face by the official.

Guo Weiguo, who was present when Wang Lijun was slapped, said in the interrogation record that “the conflict was made public after Wang Lijun was slapped.”

That Bo was told of his wife’s crime and failed to bring it to light appears to implicate him in the cover-up for which Wang and four other police officers have already stood trial. Observers disagree, however, over what the episode’s inclusion in the official record means for Bo’s fate. From The Guardian:

[…] Kerry Brown, an expert on Chinese politics at the Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy, said the party could still deal with Bo’s case internally, adding: “It seems to have been very rigorous in keeping Bo’s malfeasance apart from Gu’s.

“That kind of story [about the confrontation] was so well known that it was hard not to try to address it.”

He added: “I can’t see any big gains from totally trashing Bo now. Not going for the jugular might be more sensible, particularly at the moment.”

But others have read it as a sign of possible criminal proceedings. June Teufel Dreyer of the University of Miami told Bloomberg, for example, that “the nuggets are the clues which could lead to a Bo Xilai indictment later on. They have very cleverly left the door open with several phrases.” The Financial Times’ Kathrin Hille wrote that this interpretation is consistent “with information recently given to senior party members. Lin Zhe, a professor at the Central Party School, said the main point that the internal investigation had found Mr Bo guilty of was helping to cover up for his wife.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Deborah Kan discussed the issue with Jeremy Page, who concluded that an announcement on Bo’s fate is likely “in the next couple of weeks, or immediately after [the] National Day holiday”.

The final section of the Xinhua account is devoted to emphasising the investigation and trial’s thoroughness, fairness and strict adherence to procedure:

Gu Mingan, a professor with the Law School of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics as well as an observer at the trials, said the two sides made full efforts to raise and cross-examine evidence during the trials, and the court scrupulously heard the opinions of the prosecutors as well as the defense counsel, fully reflecting the judicial concept of the equality of the prosecution and the defense, and safeguarded the sanctity of law.

After the trials, Wu Qunfang, a resident from the Taoyuan community in the Chenghua District of Chengdu, said that after the trials they have fully understood the beginning and subsequent development of Wang Lijun’s case.

“We believe that all is equal before the law and expect a fair verdict from the people’s court,” Wu said.

Global Times elaborated, stressing the inevitability of justice in China and invoking a favourite recent theme, the awesome “moral whip” of online scrutiny.

Those who commit crimes, regardless of the power or position they hold, will not escape punishment. Wang’s case has strengthened this faith among the public and served as a serious deterrent in the country.

Wang’s trial will drive forward China’s political system, as it has highlighted the urgency of checks and balance of power.

Confusion still exists over the case, but people are gradually believing more that justice will eventually trump over any privilege.

Confidence is built on more criminal officials being firmly punished, on the influential emergence of online supervision and the rising voice of individuals via Weibo.

But the Xinhua account leaves some questions unanswered. Siweiluozi wondered, for example, what evidence exists that Wang had applied to the U.S. for asylum, justifying the charge of defection.

[… W]hat I really, really want to know now, though, is what is the prosecution’s evidence for this? Do they have the application for asylum? If so, how did they get it? Or is their evidence of this fact Wang’s confession?

If the evidence for Wang’s asylum application is based solely on his confession, then this should be insufficient grounds to convict under Chinese law, since Article 46 of the Criminal Procedure Law states, in relevant part:

A defendant cannot be found guilty and sentenced to a criminal punishment if there is only his statement but no evidence.

To be clear, I am not saying that Wang will (or even necessarily should, within the terms of Chinese criminal justice) be acquitted of defection. I’m merely pointing to what I think is an interesting question regarding evidence. Put simply: what is the evidence to back up this charge? Unfortunately, I’m not optimistic that I will ever see either the verdict in this trial or, through some other means, the evidence disclosed in sufficient detail.

Xinhua’s description of Wang’s actions after he was drawn into Gu’s conspiracy, such as secretly keeping hold of evidence against her, shows his acute awareness of being on treacherous ground. But according to a profile of Wang’s earlier career by The Telegraph’s Malcolm Moore, he had known for many years that his position was precarious:

As early as the late 1990s, when Mr Wang was a star policeman in the city of Tieling, in Liaoning province, he spilled his fears to Zhou Lijun, the script writer of “Iron Blooded Police Spirits”, a television drama series based on his career. “I was in a bath house with Wang Lijun in Fushun, Liaoning, and we were both sitting naked in the hot tub,” Mr Zhou recalled on his blog.

“And he said: ‘I know exactly what I am, I am just a piece of chewing gum in the officials’ mouths. They will chew me up and when they find there is no taste anymore they will spit me out onto the ground, and God knows whose shoes I will be sticking to by that time.’”

[…] “Everybody has some sort of mental problem,” Mr Wang told Mr Chen, his biographer. “I dream about a normal life, but it is not possible. I am struggling between glory and confusion, but I will not let myself collapse. I may be wiped out by certain powers, or die when I am still young, but history will remember me.”

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: abuse of power, Bo Guagua, Bo Xilai, Chengdu, Chongqing, corrupt officials, corruption, defection, Global Times, gu kailai, justice, legal system, Neil Heywood, rule of law, Wang Lijun, Xinhua
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Other:
•    Jiao Guobiao (焦国标): A Peking University instructor has been arrested for writing calls for political reform online [zh].
•    Wang + Chengdu (王+成都): Wang Lijun has accepted multiple charges in a “public” hearing that ended earlier today.
•    liver cancer (肝癌): Among the many rumors surrounding Xi Jinping’s disappearance earlier this month is that he has early stage liver cancer. There is no substantiating evidence for this.
Note: All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.
CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search.  CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: anti-japan demonstrations, anti-Japan protests, Beijing, Beijing University, censorship, Chengdu, diaoyu islands, filtered keywords, Internet censorship, Japan, Peking University, Sensitive Words Series, sina weibo, Wang Lijun, weibo, Xi Jinping
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A court spokesman, Yang Yuquan, this afternoon said proceedings had been “public” but no independent journalists were permitted into court.

The spokesman made no mention of Bo, who remains in detention under the Communist Party’s internal discipline procedures, although it did praise Wang’s cooperation in investigating the ‘crimes of others’.

…

© Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bo Xilai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Chongqing corruption, corruption, death penalty, defection, Wang Lijun
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