Yet, the resulting fury has highlighted how such movements, existing in cyberspace, are gathering astonishing momentum...
by Joe Briscoe
QIAN YUNHUI was not a man most people in 'the west' would have heard of.In fact, he was not even a person that most people in China would have heard of.
Until he died, in a most terrible way, on Christmas day.
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| A shrine to Qian Yunhui |
He was, by all means, just a 53-year old guy from Yueqing - a small village in Eastern China, who back in 2004 encouraged villagers to stand up against the local government.
He protested against the unfair seizure of their land and was subsequently imprisoned twice, only to continue the protest upon his release. Travelling to Beijing, he even attempted to petition the central government.
Mr Qian was, by all accounts, a good man. Someone who knew right from wrong, and stepped forwards when others stood still. A conscience that had the courage to speak out when others weaker than himself remained silent.
Although Christmas is not generally celebrated as a particularly meaningful festival in China, there is growing awareness of it's significance as a time for those who are inclined, to celebrate the birth of their religious saviour.
Christmas morning 2010 saw not the birth, but the death of a true Chinese hero. Not a decorated war veteran, nor a celebrated government elder. And not a Chinese olympic champion sporting a gold medal.
For figures such as these, thrust upon the people, are but products of deceitful and manipulative propaganda.
For figures such as these, thrust upon the people, are but products of deceitful and manipulative propaganda.
Mr Qian was the rarest of things. A true, honest to God Chinese person. One who is unable to watch inequality and abuse, unable to wait while others around are walked over. One who was not content to be kept down.
And, in the true style of 'Modern China', he was murdered for this very reason, by those around him who call themselves Chinese but are in fact barely human.
Official government versions of how Mr Qian came to meet his end under the vehicle describe an unfortunate accident. Eyewitnesses however, claimed that it had been no such thing. Huang Deyan, 黄迪燕 claimed she saw four uniformed men with gloves struggle with Qian and then put his body under the front tire by force. The driver of the vehicle, Fei Liangyu (费良玉) was detained by the police, for questioning the investigation and even Qian's daughter was taken away.
But the mystery and suspicion surrounding the case refused to go away. The photos which were taken at the scene showed Qian in his last position, clawing his way out from under the giant tyres. Hardly the actions of a man who was hit by a truck at speed.
Decide for yourself.
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| Photos taken at the scene have been removed from search engines such as Baidu, but some websites still carry them... Click here. |
The online furore of Chinese netizens has kept the case of Qian Yunhui very much in the public eye, investigating in a way that journalists in China are unable to.
Wu Gan, a rights activist told CNN: "This death really shows that the bottom line of what is intolerable keeps getting lower," he said.
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| A bookstore owner holds up the first and only issue of Han Han's 'Party' Magazine. |
As if to confirm the statement, just a few days after the incident happened, news came that a magazine published by influential cultural icon Han Han - known for his subtle critiscisms of China - had been shut down after only a single issue.
And, at almost the same time, it was reported on the BBC that China had accepted the problem of corruption among it's officials to be "still very serious". The government acknowledged that tacking it would be a very difficult task, but cited an official report, published on the xinhua website that since 2003, 200,000 cases of corruption had been investigated.
Of course, a realist such as myself would then wonder how much the officials had needed to pay to have the investigations called off(!)
While there is truth to the much repeated soundbite that "attitudes in China are changing", unfortunately the cruel willingness among those with power to kill and abuse their own people continues. And lest we forget, these people, the ones limiting the information and crushing good men under heavy vehicles, are themselves Chinese.
When the problem exists within the people themselves, how does one begin to solve it?
The story of Qian Yunhui can be found on CNN and, with all original images, on ChinaSmack.
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