Protest leader held over manager's death
- Source: Global Times
- [00:58 October 19 2009]
- Comments
By Huang Jingjing
A former convicted criminal man was arrested Friday for allegedly leading a violent protest on July 24 that caused the death of the general manager of a steel group in Northeast China's Jilin Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.
Police of Tonghua Public Security Bureau in Jilin detained Ji Yigang, 50, a former convict and employee of the Tonghua Iron & Steel Group (Tongsteel).
He remained the top suspect in the death of Chen Guojun, a newly appointed general manager of the company. The protest involved thousands of Tongsteel workers opposed to the restructuring plan of their factory by Jianlong Steel Holding Company, the report said.
Workers gathered at the factory late July after they learned Jianlong Steel would hold 65 percent of Tongsteel's shares and that job cuts were imminent.
Chen was beaten to death during the protest, two days after he was appointed the general manager of Tongsteel by Jianlong Steel.
The angry workers also blocked ambulances, police and government officers from saving him.
The Global Times' calls to Jilin provincial publicity department, which is in charge of disclosing government information went unanswered yesterday.
The press office at Tonghua public security bureau was unavailable for comment yesterday.
It was reported that Ji had confessed to the police while another five suspects also surrendered to police. The case is still under investigation.
Ji was jailed for three years for stealing in 1978. In 1982, he was sentenced to seven years for robbery.
In a separate case, a Hubei court wrapped up another case Saturday involving a violent crowd reacting to the death of a cook.
Hubei Shishou People's Court sentenced five suspects to prison up to five years and another five to prison terms with probation.
Tu Xiaoyu, the cook's older cousin and Tu Yuanhua, the cook's brother, organized a crowd illegally and started an unrest that was blamed for causing financial loss and bad social impacts, according to the trial.
The 24-year-old cook, Tu Yuangao, was found dead at the gate of a hotel in Shishou, on the evening of June 17.
The police concluded that the man killed himself by jumping off the building. Tu's family and nearby residents, however, were not convinced.
The government's silence on the issue fueled rumors that the man was poisoned. Angry people took to the street in a nearly three-day protest, set the hotel on fire and smashed several vehicles.
Zhang Wangcheng, a professor of the China Labor Studies Center at Beijing Normal University, said such mass incidents usually result in losses to both sides of a confrontation.
"In these incidents, there are no actual winners. Both bear the losses and damage," he told the Global Times.
He also praised the government's quick response and solution.
"It could decrease the losses and the fair punishment would alert other lawbreakers," he said.
"But the society needs to think more on establishing a regular channel to offer the public easier access to information connected to them," he said. "Put out a fire is important, but it is much more important to eliminate hidden fire hazards and prevent them from taking place."
