'Citizen journalist' beaten to death by Chinese authorities

Official fired after gang violence by officials

Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 12 Jan 2008

A man has been beaten to death in China by a gang of city inspectors for filming them attacking protestors.

Wei Wenhua, the manager of a construction company in Tianmen City, drove past a disturbance last Monday between a group of municipal city inspectors and local residents over the dumping of rubbish near their homes.

Wei used his mobile phone to film the protest but was seen and surrounded by a group of about 50 inspectors, known as 'Chengguan', who demanded that he delete the footage.

When he refused Wei was surrounded and beaten up for five minutes, despite handing over the phone.

The man died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. Four other people were hospitalised in the incident.

"Wei is the first 'citizen journalist' to die in China because of what he was trying to film," said Reporters Without Borders.

"He was beaten to death for doing something which is becoming more and more common and which was a way to expose law enforcement officers who keep on overstepping the limits."

Four people have been arrested over the death. The mobile phone has been recovered but the footage had been deleted. Another 100 people are under investigation.

The Chengguan are responsible enforcing urban planning regulations and removing unlicensed traders, but have become increasingly unpopular since their introduction 10 years ago.

Qi Zhengjun, chief of the city urban administration bureau, lost his job over the incident, state media reported.

Wei's 14 year-old daughter, who has not yet been told of the death of her father, has been promised free education by the state.

Associated Press has reported that thousands of people have marched in protest at the killing. Meanwhile, Chinese state media has signalled that a rethink may be in order due to the protest.

Chen Yizhong, a state media blogger, asked why this type of violence is not met with harder restrictions.

"Cities need administration but urban administrators [such as Zhengjun] need to be governed by law first," he said.

See also: