Qian Yunhui
Encyclopedia
Qian Yunhui a 53-year-old elected and popular eastern Zhejiang
province village head who had a long history of petitioning against alleged abuses by local government, died on December 25, 2010 after being crushed by the front wheel of a truck loaded with crushed rocks for a nearby building site operated by the Yueqing Electric Power Plant. Rumors emerged stating that Qian was held on the ground by four men in security personnel uniforms while the truck was driven slowly over him. A government press conference a week later announced that Qian had died in an ordinary traffic accident, struck and killed crossing the road.
An eyewitness by the name of Qian Chengwei said that he saw that four uniformed men held the victim down on the ground while the truck went on top of him. The eyewitness had since been arrested and detained by the police.
Other eyewitnesses including villager Huang Diyan, claimed she saw four uniformed men with gloves struggle with Qian and then put his body under the front tire by force.
The truck's owner/driver, Fei Liangyu was detained by the police, along with other villagers who questioned the police's investigation, including Qian's daughter.
His family was paid 1.05 million Yuan (US$
159,000) but, as for coal miners victims for example, to decide the price of a life can be highly controversial.
, part of the prefecture-level city of Wenzhou
in Zhejiang
province.
On 18/12/2010, Qian ordered villagers to create a road block using electric power poles, preventing trucks from leaving or entering the power plant.
On 19/12/2010, a fleet of trucks loaded with crushed rocks were being blocked on the road again. The road was opened on 20/12/2010 after police removed the poles. Delivery of crushed rocks was resumed on 23/12/2010. And on 25/12/2010, Qian was crushed to death under the wheel of one of those trucks.
, Twitter
, Google Buzz
while many people expressed their disbelief in the official police explanation on these sites. As one Sina Weibo
user wrote: “It’s become the habit of the majority of the people to suspect whatever the government says.”
Yasheng Huang, a MIT professor, stated: “No matter what the truth of Mr. Qian’s death, doesn’t this demonstrate a political crisis, considering the preference of public opinion? If you’re the ruler, shouldn’t you be feeling anxious and concerned? Even if you don’t strive for justice, equality and progress, shouldn’t you start considering (political) system reform simply for the sake of ruling?”
online activist Wu Gan , alias Tu Fu Wu Gan, or Chao Ji Di Su Tu Fu (his online name) was among the first citizen reporters to visit the crime scene, and began interviewing local eyewitness. Wu has obtained a police video of the crime scene right after the victim's dead body being removed, and had since posted the video online. Wu regularly posted comments on Twitter and other internet platforms, and with the help of a group of Chinese lawyers, is offering free legal aid to villagers in need.
Well known activist Xu Zhiyong
also went to crime scene to conduct his own investigation.
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province village head who had a long history of petitioning against alleged abuses by local government, died on December 25, 2010 after being crushed by the front wheel of a truck loaded with crushed rocks for a nearby building site operated by the Yueqing Electric Power Plant. Rumors emerged stating that Qian was held on the ground by four men in security personnel uniforms while the truck was driven slowly over him. A government press conference a week later announced that Qian had died in an ordinary traffic accident, struck and killed crossing the road.
An eyewitness by the name of Qian Chengwei said that he saw that four uniformed men held the victim down on the ground while the truck went on top of him. The eyewitness had since been arrested and detained by the police.
Other eyewitnesses including villager Huang Diyan, claimed she saw four uniformed men with gloves struggle with Qian and then put his body under the front tire by force.
The truck's owner/driver, Fei Liangyu was detained by the police, along with other villagers who questioned the police's investigation, including Qian's daughter.
His family was paid 1.05 million Yuan (US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
159,000) but, as for coal miners victims for example, to decide the price of a life can be highly controversial.
Location
The village of Zhaiqiao is located in the city of YueqingYueqing
Yueqing , sometimes mis-pronounced and mis-spelled as "Leqing", is a county-level city under the administration of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, in eastern China...
, part of the prefecture-level city of Wenzhou
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
in Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province.
Yueqing Electric Power Plant land dispute
There is an unresolved land dispute between villagers and the power plant.Road block
On 17/12/2010, a fleet of trucks loaded with crushed rocks destined for the power plant were being stopped by the villagers.On 18/12/2010, Qian ordered villagers to create a road block using electric power poles, preventing trucks from leaving or entering the power plant.
On 19/12/2010, a fleet of trucks loaded with crushed rocks were being blocked on the road again. The road was opened on 20/12/2010 after police removed the poles. Delivery of crushed rocks was resumed on 23/12/2010. And on 25/12/2010, Qian was crushed to death under the wheel of one of those trucks.
Internet response in China
Within hours of Qian's death, images of his dead body were circulating on Chinese websites such as Sina WeiboSina Weibo
Sina Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website. Akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, it is one of the most popular sites in China, in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with a similar market penetration that Twitter has established in the USA...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, Google Buzz
Google Buzz
Google Buzz is a social networking, microblogging and messaging tool from Google integrated into the company's web-based email program, Gmail. Users can share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox. On October 14, 2011,...
while many people expressed their disbelief in the official police explanation on these sites. As one Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website. Akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, it is one of the most popular sites in China, in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with a similar market penetration that Twitter has established in the USA...
user wrote: “It’s become the habit of the majority of the people to suspect whatever the government says.”
Yasheng Huang, a MIT professor, stated: “No matter what the truth of Mr. Qian’s death, doesn’t this demonstrate a political crisis, considering the preference of public opinion? If you’re the ruler, shouldn’t you be feeling anxious and concerned? Even if you don’t strive for justice, equality and progress, shouldn’t you start considering (political) system reform simply for the sake of ruling?”
Chinese online grassroots activists
Well known ChineseChinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
online activist Wu Gan , alias Tu Fu Wu Gan, or Chao Ji Di Su Tu Fu (his online name) was among the first citizen reporters to visit the crime scene, and began interviewing local eyewitness. Wu has obtained a police video of the crime scene right after the victim's dead body being removed, and had since posted the video online. Wu regularly posted comments on Twitter and other internet platforms, and with the help of a group of Chinese lawyers, is offering free legal aid to villagers in need.
Well known activist Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong
Xu Zhiyong is a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. He was one of the founders of the NGO Open Constitution Initiative and an active rights lawyer in China who helped those underprivileged....
also went to crime scene to conduct his own investigation.
List of Chinese media covering the story
Many Chinese news agencies have opposed government censorship by questioning the government's official explanation.- Southern Metropoli Daily
- Xinbun Morning Daily
- Jinhua Daily
- Longhua Net
- Oriental Morning Daily
- Xinjin Daily
- Southern Editorial
- China Economic Time
- Guang Zhou Daily
- Qing Nian Daily
- Yang Tse Evening News
- Economic Observation Net
- Hua Xi Metropoli Daily
- Chi Ru Evening News
External links
- 浙江乐清上访村主任遭碾死（网易新闻专题）
- 浙江乐清上访村民被碾死（腾讯新闻专题 page has been removed/censored/GFWedGolden Shield ProjectThe Golden Shield Project , colloquially referred to as the Great Firewall of China is a censorship and surveillance project operated by the Ministry of Public Security division of the government of the People's Republic of China...
as of 31Dec2010） - 四个时评人和他们眼中的“钱云会被撞案”
- Eyewitness: Chinese police, protesters clash after villager's death|By Eve Bower, CNN |January 3, 2011
- 钱云会头七 上千民众悼念 特警阻拦酿冲突
- 乐清 钱云会案 警方未出警前 高清 现场 视频 Video of Qian under the front wheel of a truck loaded with crushed rocks.
- 錢雲會死亡之謎 The mystery of Qianyunhui's death Video
- 实拍乐清大批警察驱散围观聚集群众 村民哭跪遗像