Newspaper crackdown draws government criticism By Echo Shan (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2005-10-21 13:59
The deputy editor in chief of the government-subsidized Taizhou Evening News,
was "arrested" for a critical report involving local traffic police and
manhandled like a criminal into a patrol car.
The deputy editor
in chief of the government-subsidized Taizhou Evening News, was "arrested"
for a critical report involving local traffic police and manhandled like a
criminal into a patrol car. [sina] | He was
later released and the unruly officers are under investigation by government
authorities.
Wu Xiang was grabbed by the cops all because of an October 19 report that
chronicled the "unreasonable amount of money that had to be paid to apply for a
license plate for electric bicycles" he said from a hospital, where he was
treated briefly after being "released" by police after his colleagues
interceded.
According to Wu, he was seriously attacked on the head and abdomen by
out-of-control traffic police who had assembled 40-some officers cops and more
than a dozen patrol cars at about 10 am October 20, the very next morning after
the report appeared.
They are the officers who during duty hours are servants of people who
normally direct cars and pedestrians.
The traffic police "raided" the Taizhou Evening Paper to demand for a
retraction to the story and a formal apology, citing distortions of the truth in
the report about the electric bicycle article.
Wu as the deputy editor in chief when the "police guests" arrived -- at first
just two officers -- and gave them a detailed explanation that the report had
been granted careful editing and nothing that skewed from truth was contained in
it.
The discussion soon escalated into a brawl. The police officer allegedly
slapped a desk in a violent rage. When Li Xiaoguo, director of the Shujiang
District Traffic Police Unit in Taizhou, arrived, things got even worse, with
bodies clashing. a witness surnamed Lin said.
Li hit Wu on the head with his brief case and in return was slapped by Wu on
the face.
Li then retaliated, convening more than 40 of his subordinates who rushed to
the scene. In a storm of fury he even shouted, "I am not a police officer
today," said several witnesses to the incident.
The local government has responded firmly to the incident, issuing a bond for
Li, who many not have forecast his destiny about no longer being a cop -- now
and forever.
"It's totally wrong for police to do such a thing because it tarnishes the
image of the law enforcement unit," said Chen Mianhan, director of Taizhou
Police Bureau. The bureau has reported the incident to the Zhejiang Province
Police Office, which will have a final say on any outcome or punishment in the
case.
The Shujiang District is also convening its own internal investigation into
the case.
"All police officers should learn a lesson from this," Wang Jianping, head of
Shujiang District government.
"The news media are entitled to supervise the
government," he explained, noting the fundamental rights of the press under the
Chinese constitution.
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