by Tienchi Martin-Liao / October 9, 2013
In the newest chapter of China’s internet crackdowns, a 16 year-old boy is detained.
Yang Hui
On the left, Yang Hui flashes a victory sign after his release from detention in Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County, Gansu province on Sept. 23, 2013. On the right, his father Yang Niuhu (C) picks him up from the detention center with lawyers Wang Shihua (R) and You Feizhu (L). Photo: Sina Weibo via RFA
An absurd law in China has hit its first victim. A 16-year-old boy, Yang Hui, in Zhangjiachuan county, Gansu Province, has been put under criminal detention for posting news online and expressing his suspicions about a potential murder in his neighborhood. In this case, a man had dropped from the roof of a building and died on September 12. The police conducted a minimal investigation, and instead decided to beat the dead man’s family members who rushed to the scene. The family members were then detained, despite the protestation of the surrounding crowd. Yang criticized the police’s behavior on his blog and exposed more news a day later, which showed that the place where the incident happened, a KTV-shop, is owned by the vice president of the local court.
The police accused Yang of “spreading rumor online,” and his “rumor” has now been forwarded over 500 times. According to the newest internet law, Yang could be charged with “inciting trouble” (xunxing zishi) and disturbing the social order. Though this is the first known case, now that this ridiculous fuss has a legal foundation it will certainly not be the last.
On September 9, the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate made a joint “interpretation on application of criminal law in terms of the use of information networks.” According to Paragraph 5: One who uses the information network to abuse or threaten others, or in severe cases, disturbs the social order, will be charged and punished for inciting trouble in accordance with the Criminal Law, Paragraph 293, Rule 1. Paragraph 2 reads: When the defaming information has been hit 5000 times or forwarded 500 times, it will be counted as a severe case.
Thus, with this silver bullet, the police arrested Yang the high school student. Yet, according to the Law on Protection of Minors in China, people under 18 count as a minor, and the life and health of a minor are to be protected. Even his or her honor and dignity should not be offended. Now we have a situation where one law overrides another, even under the condition that Yang’s writing is provocative and inciting.