A China Youth Daily article questioned the rule of law in the light of a series of recent arrests of online bloggers for their outspoken postings against the government. Earlier, on February 26, Mr. Chen from Yunxi County, Hubei Province was arrested for his “trouble-making” remarks on the Internet. In response to the public outcry on the Internet against the arrest, local police stated that they were "in strict accordance with the law" and the decision to arrest was reported to and approved by superiors “to uphold the law." After eight days of detention on charges of “insulting and defaming others,” Chen was released due to “pressure from the Internet,” said the Yunxi Public Security Bureau.
China Youth Daily questioned, “Now that the pressure from the Internet forced them to release the guy, then what exactly was the pressure that forced them to arrest the guy?”
Source: People’s Daily, reprint China Youth Daily, March 12, 2010
http://media.people.com.cn/GB/40698/11131970.html