A Chinese journalist who was jailed after he wrote about suspected wrongdoing by local officials has been sentenced to another eight years behind bars. The imprisoned journalist Qi Chonghuai (齐崇淮) was only two weeks away from being released from a prison in eastern China’s Shandong province when a court put him on trial again on June 9th.
The new trial convicted Qi Chonghuai on a new charge of embezzlement but also tried him again for extortion and blackmail — the same charges he faced in 2008 when he was first sentenced.
Qi Chonghuai was arrested in 2007 after he wrote about a local official who had beaten a woman for coming late to work. According to various lawyers in China (who wish to remain anonymous for obvious reasons) there was no proof Qi Chonghuai did any of the things he was accused of, and this is simply the work of a corrupt Chinese official with too much power.
Qi is a long-time journalist known for his exposes of official corruption and social injustices. Its likely he has more than one enemy in high places.
So much for feminism and women's rights in China!
In related news...
On June 10th, Sichuan earthquake activist Huang Qi (黄琦) was released from a prison in Chengdu, after completing a three-year term on the conviction of “illegal possession of state secrets.” All he did was criticize the local government for their failure to enforce proper building methods and their lack of effort on helping people after the earthquake.
China routinely arrests environmental activists, AIDS/HIV activists, feminists and basically anyone who gets in their way.
"In China Life is Cheap."
See Also
Fukushima Meltdown
Earthquake in Haiti
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