Wei Wenhua
Encyclopedia
Wei Wenhua 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.
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) with a mobile phone
(it is not currently known what Wei was attempting to use the photographs for). He was beaten inside his car for five minutes and declared dead at a local hospital soon after.
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.
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!"
Tianmen
Tianmen is a sub-prefecture-level city in central Hubei Province, Central China.It is on the west of Wuhan and east of Jingzhou. Formerly known as Jingling , it was renamed to Tianmen in 1726 during Qing Dynasty....
, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
, after attempting to film Chinese authorities clashing with villagers.
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.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) with a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
(it is not currently known what Wei was attempting to use the photographs for). He was beaten inside his car for five minutes and declared dead at a local hospital soon after.
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, and four people were detained.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.
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
- Internet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet 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...
- Politics of the People's Republic of ChinaPolitics of the People's Republic of ChinaThe politics of the People's Republic of China take place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is stated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China...
- Citizen journalismCitizen journalismCitizen journalism is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information...
- Citizen mediaCitizen mediaThe term citizen media refers to forms of content produced by private citizens who are otherwise not professional journalists. Citizen journalism, participatory media and democratic media are related principles.-Principles of citizen media:...