Wei Wenhua, a 41-year-old construction executive who also operated a blog in China, was beaten to death by city inspectors after he filmed their confrontation with villagers who protested the dumping of waste near their homes.
When Wei took out his cell phone to record the protest, more than 50 municipal inspectors turned on him, attacking him for five minutes, Xinhua said. Wei was dead on arrival at a Tianmen hospital, the report said.
One official has been fired over the incident.
Chinese news agencies are calling Wei Wenhua the first ‘citizen reporter’ to be killed while attempting to document a breaking news event.
Reporters Without Borders says Wei’s death exemplifies the lack of freedom within China.
“This tragedy shows how the Chinese authority flout freedom of expression every day. They go after anyone who might be ready to report something that is newsworthy.
Wei was attacked in his car by reportedly 50-100 members of the “chengguan”, a unit tasked with enforcing urban planning and administration and which Chinese citizens refer to as the parapolice due to their violent methods.
Even after Wei surrendered his phone, which he’d used to videotape the confrontation, the chengguan continued to beat him, according to the Shanghai Daily. One Chinese news service reports that over 100 people are being investigated in connection with the murder.
According to Radio Free Asia Unplugged there have been several similar beatings by the chengguan in recent months. In most situations the government has responded with a media ban concerning the conflicts.
In the wake of Wei’s death there has been a mass online protest from Chinese citizens, including Chinese bloggers defying governmental censorship.
Take your freedom to blog seriously, folks, and protest for those whose governments don’t grant them the freedom we have.
Monday, January 14th, 2008, 5:52 am | 
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January 14, 2008 at 6:37 am
I wonder how many non-Chinese people will get arrested or beaten during the Olympics — outside of the games, I mean.
Ron’s last blog post..With All Due Respects to the Wong Family
January 14, 2008 at 9:04 am
The fact that a hole like China was actually awarded the Olympics is sickening.
Steve’s last blog post..Life is funny and surprising
January 14, 2008 at 10:29 am
I’d say the Reporters without Borders pullquote isn’t giving people the full picture. People have this misperception that China is this giant Stalinist government where the central government dictates everything that happens, but the scary thing about the death of Wei Wenhua isn’t that China’s top-level state authorities are oppressive (they are), it’s that the mid- and bottom-tier authorities make up the rules as they go along. So even though the central government’s message of 2008 will be “everybody, let’s be shiny, happy, and harmonious,” there are still going to be thugs with badges cracking skulls with the slightest provocation. The central government is deeply afraid of the negative PR, and that’s why the central government-controlled media is actually reporting on Wei Wenhua rather than covering it up. They want to warn the lower-downs about the consequences of not getting with the program early on.
Matthew Stinson’s last blog post..USF Gets a Confucius Institute
January 16, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I recently heard about this story, and I lived in China this summer. We videotaped our lives for a website and we were stopped multiple times for taping. However, the government officials allowed us to film because we are harmless!
we got all the tapes back and all the video is online at http://www.nihaoareyou.com
the Chinese people are not brutal like these incidents, they are so kind and genuine. It is the hope of our trip that we can spread the word of the kindness of the Chinese people. It is our goal to help bring the two countries together.
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January 22, 2008 at 9:34 pm