Chinese Blogger Becomes Celebrity Exposing Corruption

hackingbear writes "The New York Times reports the story of a Chinese blogger named Zhu Ruifeng who has become an overnight celebrity in China. He posted a secretly recorded video of an 18-year-old woman having sex with a 57-year-old official from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing. The official, along with 10 others, lost their jobs and are now under investigation. Mr. Zhu says ordinary citizens have come to rely on the Internet for retribution, even if it often amounts to mob justice. 'We used to say that when you have a problem, go to the police,' he said. 'Now we say when you have a problem, go to the netizens.' He has become a litmus test of how committed China's new leaders are in their battle against corruption — and whether they can tolerate populist crusaders like Mr. Zhu."

Comments

you won't ever hear what happens

[Anonymous Coward]

to the blogger, though... some day (soon if he keeps it up), he'll simply "disappear".....

Link

[Anonymous Coward]

So where's the link to the video in question?

Stay low

[kcelery]

As a whistle blower, keeping his head low is mandatory in China.

The guy who reported the milk factory misuse of melamine was murdered.
Rumor said there was a bounty of 1/2 million RMB on his life.

http://ntdtv.org/en/news/china/2012-11-23/china-s-toxic-milk-whistleblower-murdered.html

Re:Stay low

[Calibax]

Almost certainly the guy who posed the video is being used by someone who passed him the tape.

The real whistle blower is probably a higher level functionary who wanted the tape released to discredit a political enemy and able to protect this guy, for now. How long the poster will continue to be protected is anyone's guess.

Re:But how long will this last?

[ShanghaiBill]

Corruption, when done well, is almost impossible to detect.

Regulation, when done well, is almost impossible to corrupt. If you want to start a business in China, you will have to pay a bribe. I have started several business in the USA, and there is no where in the system for a bribe. The law says that the county clerk must issue the license. They have no discretion. When I lived in Shanghai, I had to pay a bribe so my kids could attend school. The rules are murky and unwritten, so the school staff has huge discretion of who can attend. In America the rules for admission are written down, clear, and publicly available. The system in China is designed to be corruptible, while the American system is designed to prevent it.

In America, nearly all of my interaction with local, state and federal government is through websites. It is difficult to get an under-the-table bribe through a website. When I have to deal face-to-face, such as at the DMV, it is at a public window in full view of other people. When I have had to deal with government officials in China, they often will lead applicants one at a time into private offices, out of view of the public. The corruption is pervasive and systematic, and their procedures are designed to facilitate it.

 

Re:you won't ever hear what happens

[Anonymous Coward]

That was 40 years ago. China changed a lot since then. Disappearing anyone too famous is asking for trouble. Character assassination works much better.

Re:But how long will this last?

[DNS-and-BIND]

"One of the things I have always found troubling about Westerners doing business in emerging market countries is that they sometimes take an almost perverse pride in discussing payoffs to government officials. It is as though their having paid a bribe is a symbol of their international sophistication and insider knowledge. Yet, countless times when I am told of the bribe, I know the very same thing could almost certainly have been accomplished without a bribe."
--Dan Harris, chinalawblog.com