Strange things in China’s media - The China Post
The newspaper reported that Sun Fawu, 57, a farmer seeking compensation for land spoiled by a coal-mining operation, was kidnapped by officials while on his way to Beijing on October 19. He was released only after he signed a statement acknowledging that he was suffering from mental illness and promised not to petition again.
Xintai township’s tactics appear to be working. Its Web site boasted that the number of petitions had dropped to 274 this year, 4% less than in 2007. Interestingly, the Beijing News story was picked up by other mainstream media, including the People’s Daily. It was also posted on Sina.com, the country’s most popular Web portal.
Meanwhile, a subsidiary of Xinhua News Agency has condemned officials who covered up dissent and called for greater press freedom. Liaowang, a magazine published by Xinhua, asserted in an article that officials who covered up the truth were guilty of “official dereliction of duty.”
The People’s Daily has also allowed the party’s dirty laundry to be seen in public by criticizing officials who put pressure on foreign non-governmental organizations to invite them on overseas trips, which was ostensibly meant to strengthen friendship between cultures and peoples but were actually sightseeing and shopping junkets.
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