Social Stability - 135. page

On May 17, 2012, a widow, trying to protect her home, stabbed Zhang Bo to death. Zhang Bo, a Land Resources Bureau of Law Enforcement Brigade Deputy Captain in Dejiang County, Guizhou Province, along with his staff members, had excavated the widow’s newly repaired house.

As the news spread on the Internet, Chinese Internet users posted comments to show their sympathy, support, and solidarity, praising the woman: “Good Killing. Well done!” “Kill corrupt officials. The ordinary people are so miserable. Rid the people of this scourge.”

Source: Epoch Times, May 22, 2012
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/5/22/n3594570.htm

Li Weidong, former President of China Reform Magazine. announced on his miniblog (weibo) that three former senior Party officials had requested that he publish a letter they wrote in February to the Communist Party leaders. In the letter, the three officials stated that all candidates for the Party’s Eighteenth Congress and its committees should and must disclose their personal assets. “Those who dare not disclose their assets and the assets of their families should absolutely not be nominated. We sincerely hope that our Party does not try to dodge this very modest request. If a leader cannot even agree to this request, he should be sent home to sell sweet potatoes. …”

The letter concluded that if the Party leaders continue to hold that time is not ripe for public disclosure of their assets, the leaders would not be able to face and explain (their situation) to the Party members. The three former senior officials had served on the Party’s United Front Work Department and Organization Department. Their letter to the Party leaders was sent in February 2012. As they received no response whatsoever, the three requested Li Weidong to release their letter on his weibo site.

Source: Li Weidong 李伟东, May 16, 2012
http://weibo.taihainet.com/index.php/u/liweidongld

On May 4, 2012, Xinhua reported  that the Ministry of Health was sending out an emergency notice to require government health care units at all levels to cooperate with the police system to establish permanent police operation units in all level 2 hospitals and above. (Level 2 hospitals, as defined in a Chinese sense, are hospitals that provide medical treatment and care to residents in multiple communities and that conduct certain medical research. Generally speaking, hospitals at the county and city levels are all level 2 and above.) The emergency notice claimed that this order was to enhance safety for both doctors and patients and to maintain a “normal order of health care.” The notice also required all affected hospitals to install necessary equipment to enforce 24 hour security monitoring and to implement a 24 hour patrol duty system. The Ministry also required improvement in the training of health care workers, the standardization of service procedures, and the enhancement of the capability to handle emergencies.  

Source: Xinhua, May 4, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-05/04/c_111891413.htm

Below is a latest statement that blind dissident Chen Guangcheng conveyed through his friend Guo Yushan. The statement was published through weibo.com in picture form and can be found on the overseas Chinese websites of epochtimes.com and boxun.com. The statement is based on the telephone conversation between the two which took place from 22:58 to 23:40 p.m. Beijing time on May 3. Guo Yushan rephrased the words and these are not Chen’s original words. Below is a translation of the statement.

1. Chen didn’t tell the media that he wanted to apply for political asylum in the United States. He only said that he wanted to go to the United States for a vacation for a couple of months (while the situation is dealt with). He received an invitation letter from New York University. As he is now free, he wants to travel to the U.S. for a period of time and then come back to China. Therefore, going to the U.S. has nothing to do with his changing his mind about seeking asylum. He appreciates the Sino-U.S. diplomatic efforts and understands the seriousness of the diplomacy between these two big countries. Since they reached an agreement they must have treated the issue very seriously.

2. He has never, directly or indirectly, criticized the U.S. embassy for “forcing” him or inducing him to leave the embassy. It was his own decision to leave the embassy. He appreciates the embassy’s help over the past week. He appreciates Secretary Hillary, Gary Locke, and other diplomats who have cared about and helped him. He never complained (about them), directly or indirectly.

3. On the first day of his being admitted to the hospital, something unpleasant indeed happened, causing him and his family inconvenience and suffering. Because of this, he was somewhat worried and nervous. Among all, he was particularly worried when he learned that the officials from his home Shandong had threatened his wife. He hopes that, with all the media attention from the world, the Chinese government will truly deal, based on the law, with the Shandong local officials’ different incidents of illegal persecution of himself and his family.

4. He appreciates the attention and concern that the media of the whole world has given him. He also hopes that the media can understand how complicated and delicate his situation is and have a complete understanding of how it is reflected in his expression and corresponding emotions. He hopes he will not bring trouble to all the friends who have helped him and are now helping him and cause any misunderstandings. For example, regarding the help U.S. Embassy has provided him, he never had any criticism; on the contrary, he has always been grateful.

Source: Epochtimes.com and Boxun.com, May 3, 2012
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/5/4/n3580826.htm陈光诚委托郭玉闪发表的最新声明

On April 27, 2012, Liu Qi, the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Beijing Municipal Committee, spoke at Beijing’s first quarter financial review teleconference. Liu called for the party cadres and the general public to "clearly understand the current situation, be confident, do a solid job, advance while maintaining stability, and make an effort to finish the second quarter tasks in the run up to the 18th National Congress of the Party".

In addition to the second quarter directions, Liu particularly highlighted the importance of “security and stability” work. He asked all levels of the government to "ensure stability with a high level sense of political responsibility and historic mission, increase efforts to resolve conflicts, be strictly on guard against the sabotage activities carried out by domestic and foreign hostile forces, strengthen the guidance of public opinion, and strengthen and innovate in the area of public administration so as to create a favorable social environment for promoting scientific development in the capital."

Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing, gave the first quarter financial summary: in the first quarter, Beijing’s nominal GDP grew 7 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Guo concluded, “It was reasonable and met with expectations.”

Source: Xinhua, April 28, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2012-04/28/c_123050620.htm

According to an article carried by the People’s Daily, Qidong Village of Hunan Province has installed and launched a Skynet Electronic Surveillance system throughout the village; even the bus lines are included. The surveillance system is a high resolution system that is rated first class and is the first of its kind in Hunan Province. The village also formed a surveillance team that consists of members from the public security, transportation, city management, electric and water power departments to perform surveillance duties 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, using real time images.

Source: People’s Daily, April 27, 2012
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/70731/17763532.html

On April 18, 2012, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced that China’s Northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region had reported an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry. “On April 13, more than 23,000 chickens at some farms in Yanglang Village of Touying Town in the city of Guyuan in Ningxia showed symptoms of suspected avian flu. On April 18, after testing samples collected at those sites, the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confirmed that the epidemic was a case of H5N1 bird flu virus.” According to the MOA announcement, a total of 95,000 chickens have since been culled. 

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, April 18, 2012
http://www.moa.gov.cn/zwllm/yjgl/yqfb/201204/t20120418_2605976.htm

Legal Daily reported on a new type of illegal food oil that is being used in food preparation. In the past, illegal food oil, which earned the name "gutter oil," was generally extracted from waste oil and leftovers from restaurants. Such gutter oil was then illegally sold to restaurants as food oil. Recently, a new type of “gutter oil” has been circulating in the marketplace and is being used as food oil. It was extracted from filthy and rotten internal animal organs, skin, and parts that slaughterhouses had thrown out. The daily newspaper reported that the Chinese Public Police Ministry cracked down on a large "gutter oil" network, confiscating over 3,200 tons (about 3.5 million pounds) of such “new gutter oil.”

Source: Legal Daily, April 10, 2012
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/Social_management/content/2012-04/10/content_3485592.htm?node=35360