{"id":163230,"date":"2013-09-24T03:15:19","date_gmt":"2013-09-24T10:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=163230"},"modified":"2013-12-21T13:22:31","modified_gmt":"2013-12-21T21:22:31","slug":"16-year-old-rumor-posters-release-hollow-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2013\/09\/16-year-old-rumor-posters-release-hollow-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Is 16-Year-Old “Rumor” Poster’s Release a Hollow Victory?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday saw the end of the week-long detention of Yang Zhong<\/strong><\/a>, a Gansu teenager accused of causing protests by challenging the official explanation for a local man’s death. Liberal microbloggers quickly rallied around Yang, and by Monday night appeared to have secured both his release and the suspension of the local police chief. From Andrew Jacobs at The New York Times:<\/p>\n

On Monday, the police in Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County apparently bowed to public pressure and released Yang Zhong, a middle school student who was among the first people to be charged under new regulations that criminalize the spreading of online rumors with up to three years in jail. [See more via CDT<\/a>.] The authorities contend the boy had simply confessed to his crimes and served his punishment. Hours after his release, he posted online a photograph of himself flashing a victory sign. His shirt read, \u201cMake the Change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rights defenders and free-speech advocates have embraced his release as a small but significant victory against what many here see as a draconian campaign against dissent that has ensnared dozens of people over the past two months. Those arrested include Xu Zhiyong, a prominent lawyer who had called on officials to publicly disclose their financial assets, and Xue Manzi, a Chinese-American investor who often railed against injustice to his 12 million microblog followers. [Source<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"yanghui\"<\/p>\n

But law lecturer Xu Xin cautioned that “even though this was a small victory, it’s by far not a victory of China’s Internet users, and even less a victory of the rule of law<\/a>.” As if to underline the point, an attempted Q&A session on Sina Weibo was stifled before it got going:<\/p>\n

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Yang Hui's attempt at doing a Weibo interview shut down after 40 mins or so. His lawyer only answered one question<\/p>\n

— malcolmmoore (@MalcolmMoore) September 23, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n