Cui Yingjie
Cui Yingjie (崔英杰), is a peasant from Fuping County (阜平县), Hebei, China who came to Beijing as a migrant worker. Cui became the source of national attention when on August 11, 2006, a Beijing City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau official or Chengguan (城管), Li Zhiqiang (李志强), attempted to confiscate Cui's bicycle cart because Cui had no license to work or live in Beijing. Cui protested the confiscation and a struggle ensued, during which Cui stabbed Li in the throat with a fruit knife. Li died from his wounds soon after. Cui fled to Tianjin, where he was arrested several days later.
Cui's trial began in December, 2006. During the trial, a large internet discussion began on whether Cui should face the death penalty or not for his crimes. Although precedent called for the death penalty, many Chinese sympathized with Cui's situation as a poor peasant coming to Beijing to earn a living for his family, who lost his temper when his means of earning of living was being taken away from him. In April 2007, Cui was convicted of willful murder and sentenced to death, but his punishment was reprieved for 2 years. This reprieve generally implies that with good behavior Cui's sentence will be reduced to life in prison.
Cui's case highlighted the growing problem facing Beijing and other large cities. Many migrant workers have illegally come to the cities in search of work. With the 2008 Olympics approaching, Beijing has begun cracking down on migrant workers.
Many Chinese observers compared the case to that of Sun Zhigang, who was killed after being mistakenly arrested in Guangzhou in 2003. That case caused a complete overhaul of the custody and repatriation laws, although it is not yet clear if Cui Yingjie's case will have a similar effect on city administration.
References
- "Chinese sausage seller spared execution", San Diego Union-Tribune, Guo Shipeng and Benjamin Kang Lim, April 10, 2007.
- "Stabbing leads to conviction and retrospection", China Daily, Jeff Pan, April 16, 2007.