Blogger beaten to death by Chinese "inspector"

CNN:

Authorities have fired an official in central China after city inspectors beat to death a man who filmed their confrontation with villagers, China's Xinhua news agency reports.

The killing has sparked outrage in China, with thousands expressing outrage in Chinese Internet chat rooms, often the only outlet for public criticism of the government.

The incident has also alarmed advocates of press freedom, who say municipal authorities had no right to attack a man for simply filming them.

Police have detained 24 municipal inspectors and are investigating more than 100 in the death of Wei Wenhua, a 41-year-old construction company executive, Xinhua reported on Friday.

The swift action by officials reflects concerns that the incident could spark larger protests against authorities, whose heavy-handed approach often arouses resentment.

On Monday Wei happened on a confrontation in the central Chinese province of Hubei between city inspectors and villagers protesting over the dumping of waste near their homes.

A scuffle developed when residents tried to prevent trucks from unloading the rubbish, Xinhua said.

When Wei took out his cell phone to record the protest, more than 50 municipal inspectors turned on him, attacking him for five minutes, Xinhua said. Wei was dead on arrival at a Tianmen hospital, the report said.

Qi Zhengjun, chief of the urban administration bureau in the city of Tianmen, lost his job over the incident, Xinhua reported Friday.

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This is a demonstration of how the rule of law is absent in China life. It starts with the incredible abuse of authority of dumping waste next to peoples houses, then is compounded by killing a guy who is going to disclose this abuse of power. This conduct calls for more than firing the guy in charge. It needs to be followed with a murder trial against those who beat the blogger to death. If that does not happen, China cannot be considered a civilized society where the rule of law applies to all. China has made some progress in this area with its prosecution of corrupt official who have effected its commerce. It needs to do the same thing on the local level.

The Belmont Club has a YouTube on another protest in the same province that also turned violent.