2008 Guizhou riot
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Weng'an riot was a riot
on June 28, 2008 involving tens of thousands of residents in Weng'an County
, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
, in the Guizhou
province of Southwest China
. Rioters smashed government buildings and torched several police cars to protest
against an alleged police
cover-up
of a girl's death
.
. She had been earlier being spotted with two younger men who allegedly had familial ties with the local public security bureau
. Li Shufen's family and friends have said that she was raped and murdered by the son of a prominent Weng'an official and another youth and that her corpse was then thrown into the river.
The subsequent media release denied the claims, and states the two young men and one young woman involved are of local farmers' families.
threatened them, telling them: “Don't even try to file a lawsuit; there [is] no justice in this world.”
at the public security bureau
, but they were turned away and beaten. Rumors have been circulating that he girl's uncle, a local teacher, was beaten when he questioned the police
and the uncle died from his injuries at the local hospital but this was not confirmed. This roused an angry mob of thousands of people, who began overturning cars and setting fire
to government buildings, including the local Communist party
headquarters. The Associated Press
reported "30,000 angry citizens swarmed the streets". The riot lasted 7 hours with 150 people injured. About 160 office buildings and 40 cars were torched.
Zhou, as well as many other like-minded Chinese netizens, provide on-the-scene information on events like this, is a means to give voice to ordinary Chinese whose stories get overlooked in a country where all the media is under the control of China's Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
Roland Soong of East South West North, a well known website that does Chinese-to-English translations, wrote:
. Other sources have said 200 rioters were arrested. Over 1,500 paramilitary and riot police were dispatched to the county. Police detained 59 people for their alleged roles.
protest in chatrooms and forums
were quickly deleted
by the mainland Internet censors
. The government launched a campaign to defuse protest ahead of the Beijing Olympics
to continue carrying out social harmony and stability. An "Olympics Stability Drive" was announced after the incident. Public security officials in Guizhou
offered a total of 9,000 yuan
(about $1,300 or £
700 or €
800) to the parents of the teenage girl, with 3,000 paid by each suspect
. The father said “We will never accept an evil deal like this, we need to seek justice for our daughter.”
Guizhou's Communist Party
chief, Shi Zongyuan
(石宗源), estimated that prior use of force by local officials have contributed to the widespread discontentment. He further said the deep rooted reasons behind the protest were "rude and roughhand solutions" by local authorities to solve disputes over mines, demolition
of homes for public projects, relocation of residents for reservoir construction, and many other issues. Several local officials, including Weng'an's Party chief, have been dismissed for breach of duty on July 3 and 4, 2008.
newspaper claimed the family was too emotionally unstable to accept the findings. The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
said three men were questioned, but were let go. Xinhua News Agency
reported on July 1, 2008 that the investigation would be reopened. The provincial government sent 10 criminal investigators and forensic experts to re-investigate the death. The autopsy
was carried out by five experts from the Guizhou
public security
department and the Higher People's Court. After three autopsies
, there were no signs of any sexual attack according to state officials. The girl's father, Li Xiuzhong, did not accept the autopsy findings. He said "There is nothing I can do, they have sent 10 officials to my home, watching me day and night. They told me what to say when the reporters interviewed me. They threatened me that [if I said anything wrong], then another riot can happen and I must bear in mind that national security
is at stake. Li Shufen was buried in her hometown about 20 km from Weng'an. Provincial authority said that every year, about 600 to 800 criminal cases take place in the county, but half of them are not solved.
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
on June 28, 2008 involving tens of thousands of residents in Weng'an County
Weng'an County
Weng'an County is a county in Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou, China.Weng'an has an area of 1973.8 square kilometers and a population of 460,600 as of 2003.-External links:*...
, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province in the People's Republic of China. The capital of the prefecture is Duyun...
, in the Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
province of Southwest China
Southwest China
Southwest China is a region of the People's Republic of China defined by governmental bureaus that includes the municipality of Chongqing, the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Tibet Autonomous Region.-Provinces:-Municipalities:...
. Rioters smashed government buildings and torched several police cars to protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
against an alleged police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
cover-up
Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
of a girl's death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
.
Alleged rape and murder
A 16 year-old local girl by the name of Li Shufen (李树芬, born in July 1991) was found dead in a riverRiver
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
. She had been earlier being spotted with two younger men who allegedly had familial ties with the local public security bureau
Public Security Bureau
In the People's Republic of China, a public security bureau refers to the government offices while the smaller offices are called Police posts which are similar in concept to the Japanese Kōban system) present in each province and municipality that handles policing , public security, and...
. Li Shufen's family and friends have said that she was raped and murdered by the son of a prominent Weng'an official and another youth and that her corpse was then thrown into the river.
The subsequent media release denied the claims, and states the two young men and one young woman involved are of local farmers' families.
Defending the coffin
The parents were guarding the girl's coffin day and night in fear the local police might attempt to tamper with the evidence. "We won't accept an evil deal," say parents. The parents reported there have already been two attempts to steal the dead body. An additional 100 local residents have helped them guard the coffin.Police
The girl's dead body was pulled from the river on June 22, 2008. Initial police report said that the girl was drowned or jumped into the river and committed suicide. A document submitted by the local government stated the girl was unhappy with life because her parents favored her elder brother.Girl's family and relatives
Relatives of the girl blamed the local police for shoddy investigation and possible corruption. One of the parents said a police officerPolice officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
threatened them, telling them: “Don't even try to file a lawsuit; there [is] no justice in this world.”
Three murder suspects
Guizhou's official media published the first interview with three of the girl's friends (the murder suspects) on July 4, 2008. They were the last people to see the girl alive.- Chen Guangquan (陈光权), 21 years old, was the victim's boyfriend. He denied any raping.
- Liu Yanchao (刘言超), 18 years old, said he did pushupPress upFor the 2004 single by Freestylers, see Push UpA push-up, or in British English a press-up, is a common calisthenics exercise performed in a prone position by raising and lowering the body using the arms...
s on the bridge, then struggled after trying to save the girl. - Wang Jiao (王娇), 16 years old, she was also at the scene.
Protests
About 500 middle school students had gone to protestProtest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
at the public security bureau
Public Security Bureau
In the People's Republic of China, a public security bureau refers to the government offices while the smaller offices are called Police posts which are similar in concept to the Japanese Kōban system) present in each province and municipality that handles policing , public security, and...
, but they were turned away and beaten. Rumors have been circulating that he girl's uncle, a local teacher, was beaten when he questioned the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and the uncle died from his injuries at the local hospital but this was not confirmed. This roused an angry mob of thousands of people, who began overturning cars and setting fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
to government buildings, including the local Communist party
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
headquarters. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported "30,000 angry citizens swarmed the streets". The riot lasted 7 hours with 150 people injured. About 160 office buildings and 40 cars were torched.
Role of Chinese bloggers
- Zhou ShuguangZhou ShuguangZhou Shuguang is a Chinese blogger and citizen journalist. He has become known for traveling around China to document injustice done to citizens.-Personal:...
, a self-claimed citizen journalist also known as "Zola" in the Chinese blogosphereBlogosphereThe blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
, went to Weng'an to conduct a personal interview with Li Shufen's family, using all the Internet communication tools like MSNMSNMSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
, QQ, and TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, plus his own cell phone, posting to his personal web page unofficial reports along with photos and pleas from the family of the Li Shufen. It was believed that this was the first time TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
had ever been used to report a mass Chinese protest.
Zhou, as well as many other like-minded Chinese netizens, provide on-the-scene information on events like this, is a means to give voice to ordinary Chinese whose stories get overlooked in a country where all the media is under the control of China's Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
- Tianya.cnTianya ClubTianya Club is an Internet forum in China; currently it is the 12th most visited site in the People's Republic of China and 72nd overall. It was founded on 14 February 1999.It provides BBS, blog, microblog and photo album services....
, a social networking website (owned by Hainan Tianya Online Networking Technology Co.) that offers various chat roomChat roomThe term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...
s for bloggers to discuss social issues, played a indispensable role in the supporting of the students' actions during the riot. As reported by Jonathan Ansfield on blog.newsweek.com/July 2, 2008:
Roland Soong of East South West North, a well known website that does Chinese-to-English translations, wrote:
- Xinhua, the official central government news agency, played an unusual role in this incident, simply by keeping open a chat room for bloggers to voice their anger towards the local bunkering and incompetent officials. By June 29, there had been more than 200,000 hits on the 2,000 remarks left in the chatroom of the only uncensored official Xinhua website, mostly in strong condemnation of the way the police mishandled the girl’s death and the popular protest.
- At several other popular forums or chat sites, including Kdnet (猫眼看人), Maopu (猫撲), Strong Nation (强國), Sina.comSina.comSINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...
, Netese (网易), and QQ, most of the users voiced their support for the Weng'an rioters, and they all supply their own versions of information (including text, photos, and sometimes video files), different, or sometimes opposite to the versions supplied by the Guizhou police.
Arrests
Authorities have rounded up 300 people accused of taking part in the riotRiot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
. Other sources have said 200 rioters were arrested. Over 1,500 paramilitary and riot police were dispatched to the county. Police detained 59 people for their alleged roles.
Government response
Photographs as well as comments on the GuizhouGuizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
protest in chatrooms and forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
were quickly deleted
File deletion
File deletion is a way of removing a file from a computer's file system.The reasons for deleting files are#Freeing the disk space#Removing duplicate or unnecessary data to avoid confusion#Making sensitive information unavailable to others...
by the mainland Internet censors
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
. The government launched a campaign to defuse protest ahead of the Beijing Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
to continue carrying out social harmony and stability. An "Olympics Stability Drive" was announced after the incident. Public security officials in Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
offered a total of 9,000 yuan
Chinese yuan
The yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...
(about $1,300 or £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
700 or €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
800) to the parents of the teenage girl, with 3,000 paid by each suspect
Suspect
In the parlance of criminal justice, a suspect is a known person suspected of committing a crime.Police and reporters often incorrectly use the word suspect when referring to the...
. The father said “We will never accept an evil deal like this, we need to seek justice for our daughter.”
Guizhou's Communist Party
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
chief, Shi Zongyuan
Shi Zongyuan
Shi Zongyuan , ethnic Hui, is a politician of the People's Republic of China, and the current secretary of CPC Guizhou committee and the chairman of Guizhou people's congress.- Biography :...
(石宗源), estimated that prior use of force by local officials have contributed to the widespread discontentment. He further said the deep rooted reasons behind the protest were "rude and roughhand solutions" by local authorities to solve disputes over mines, demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
of homes for public projects, relocation of residents for reservoir construction, and many other issues. Several local officials, including Weng'an's Party chief, have been dismissed for breach of duty on July 3 and 4, 2008.
Investigation
The government Guizhou DailyGuizhou Daily
Guizhou Daily is the main newspaper agency of the southern Chinese province of Guizhou.Founded after the Chinese Civil War, it and the Guiyang Daily formed the main basis of communication across the province. In recent years, popularity has given way to its subsidiaries which are 贵州商报, 贵州都市报,...
newspaper claimed the family was too emotionally unstable to accept the findings. The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is a human rights organization based in Hong Kong that provides information human rights abuses in mainland China for news outlets...
said three men were questioned, but were let go. Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
reported on July 1, 2008 that the investigation would be reopened. The provincial government sent 10 criminal investigators and forensic experts to re-investigate the death. The autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
was carried out by five experts from the Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
public security
Public Security Bureau
In the People's Republic of China, a public security bureau refers to the government offices while the smaller offices are called Police posts which are similar in concept to the Japanese Kōban system) present in each province and municipality that handles policing , public security, and...
department and the Higher People's Court. After three autopsies
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
, there were no signs of any sexual attack according to state officials. The girl's father, Li Xiuzhong, did not accept the autopsy findings. He said "There is nothing I can do, they have sent 10 officials to my home, watching me day and night. They told me what to say when the reporters interviewed me. They threatened me that [if I said anything wrong], then another riot can happen and I must bear in mind that national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
is at stake. Li Shufen was buried in her hometown about 20 km from Weng'an. Provincial authority said that every year, about 600 to 800 criminal cases take place in the county, but half of them are not solved.
External links
- Zuola.com - Zhou Shuguang's blog (mostly in Chinese)
- Zuola's Twitter account (mostly in Chinese)