Wei Wenhua

Wei Wenhua
Born January 3, 1967(1967-01-03)
China
Died January 7, 2008(2008-01-07) (aged 41)
Wanba, Tianmen, Hubei
Cause of death Beaten to death
Occupation Construction manager
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wei.

Wei Wenhua (simplified Chinese: 魏文华; traditional Chinese: 魏文華; pinyin: Wèi Wénhuá; January 3, 1967[1][2] – January 7, 2008) was the general manager of a construction company, Shuli Architectural Engineering. He was beaten to death in Wanba, Tianmen, Hubei, after attempting to film Chinese authorities clashing with villagers.[2][3]

Contents

Death

The conflict which Wei attempted to film centered on a garbage dump in the village that the Chinese government was using, which the village government feared to be threatening to the inhabitants' lives.[4]

The Chinese media reported that Wei was beaten by a group of thirty or more Chengguan (urban management officers) when he attempted to photograph the villagers protesting (by attempting to prevent more garbage being dumped)[3] with a mobile phone (it is not currently known what Wei was attempting to use the photographs for).[4] He was beaten inside his car for five minutes[5] and declared dead at a local hospital soon after.[2][4]

Response to death

Qi Zhengjun, secretary-general of the city's government and commander of the municipal force, was fired from his position after the incident, following public outrage and government investigation into Wei's death. Twenty-four Chengguan members, as well as over one hundred other government personnel, were also questioned,[3][6] and four people were detained.[5]

According to Chen Junling, Wei's brother-in-law, a protest outside Tianmen's city hall the day after Wei's death comprised thousands of people.[5]

Chinese netizens compared Wei with Zhou Zhenglong, the main role of the Incident of Photos of South China Tiger. They commented, "Zhou filmed a tiger, he was alive; Wei filmed City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau officers, he was dead. What does this suggest? City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau officers are fiercer than the tiger!"

See also

References

  1. ^ Ang, Audra (2008-01-9). "Detentions Follow Chinese Protest". Associated Press via San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Corporation). http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/09/international/i062131S66.DTL. Retrieved 2008-01-13. 
  2. ^ a b c "China fires official amid investigation into beating death of protest onlooker". Associated Press via International Herald Tribune (The New York Times Company). 2008-01-11. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/11/news/China-Protest-Death.php. Retrieved 2008-01-11. 
  3. ^ a b c "Man beaten to death in China for taking pictures". CNN Online (Time Warner). 2008-01-11. Archived from the original on 2008-01-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20080113063106/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/11/china.blogger/index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-11. 
  4. ^ a b c Bandurski, David (2008). "Brutal killing of (citizen journalist) Wei Wenhua underscores the evils of China’s “urban management” system". China Media Project (University of Hong Kong). http://cmp.hku.hk/2008/01/10/814/. Retrieved 2008-01-11. 
  5. ^ a b c Ang, Audra (2008-01-09). "Detentions follow Chinese protest". AP via Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1104ap_china_protest_death.html. Retrieved 2008-01-13. 
  6. ^ "Official sacked for China beating". BBC News. 2008-01-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7182475.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-11.