Chinese Steel Boss Beaten To Death!

[JimW]

...or Rebiya Kadeer

Not that I've really followed it, but her whole career since the fall from grace seems like some lash-out at the rich and powerful she was once so cosy with and part of; full of shite because she'd never thought about any of this when she was on the gravy train. Makes the Dalai lama look a lot less problematic and he was yer actual feudal overlord.

 

[JimW]

Translation of a long backgrounder piece from Caijing, which fancies itself as China's Economist and gives it all a pro-free market spin. They're hinting fairly heavily that the death of Chen may well have been the work of local vested interests in management and grey-economy steel trade who stood to lose a cash cow in the proposed reorganisation. Has a more details on Chen's death too, with anonymous (unsurprisingly) witnesses hinting at outsider involvement.

An initial investigation revealed that the attack came in two stages. The first occurred at about 11 a.m., after which Chen left the scene under protection of security staff. He hid in an office building at the coke plant, and the security staff locked him behind two iron doors. But more than 200 people attacked the building. At 4:38 p.m., sources said, someone found Chen hiding in the office and the doors were forced open.

According to a report filed by a Jilin official at the scene, the attackers included "people who were not former or current Tonggang workers." Some witnesses told Caijing that many people who did not wear company uniforms were among the rioters attacking Chen. They may have been tied to the area's "gray business" iron and steel operations.

Police were informed that Chen was in danger, but they were unable to rescue him. Rioters blocked police, ambulances and government officials who tried to reach the victim.

Inside the office building, according to a source, someone cried out, "Chen must die." And between 6 and 7 p.m., the deed was done. An autopsy determined that he suffered a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage.

Caijing does decent journalism if you can read past the relentless free market fundie-ism and would be surprised if there wasn't some local shenanigans as a factor too, but don't think the account here answers all the questions. Doesn't even ask half of them from a worker's point of view.