China's execution of kebab vendor triggers outcry

[Untouchables]

China's execution of kebab vendor triggers outcry

BEIJING | Wed Sep 25, 2013 9:57am EDT

(Reuters) - The execution of a Chinese kebab vendor convicted of killing two city officials has sparked public criticism of a justice system said to harshly punish the poor, while letting off the rich and powerful more lightly.

Xia Junfeng, who sold grilled meat skewers in the northern city of Shenyang, was put to death on Wednesday in a highly controversial case in a country that executes thousands each year.

"The high court gave Xia Junfeng the death penalty," wrote author and entrepreneur Xia Shang in a widely shared posting on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblog service.

"It's to defend those notorious city officials, and to use the iron fist of the state to warn citizens none of that will change."

Many questioned the move when Gu Kailai, wife of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, got a lighter suspended death sentence in a far more sensational case, the murder of a British businessman.

A suspended death sentence is a uniquely Chinese punishment that is usually commuted to life in prison.

"I don't understand the law, I just know this one simple principle: if premeditated murder by Gu Kailai doesn't result in the death penalty, then Xia Junfeng should not die. Those are my values," posted a user with the identity Wuyue Sanren.

Xia's name was the most searched term on Weibo on Wednesday.

State news agency Xinhua, citing court documents, reported that Xia, 36, had sold his kebabs near a city intersection even though city officials had told him it was forbidden.

Detained by two city security officials in a police station, Xia said he stabbed them to death in self-defense after they beat him with their fists and an iron mug.

But Xinhua said the court rejected the argument, and held Xia guilty of intentional homicide in 2009. The verdict was upheld by a higher court.

City security officials, known as "chengguan", have provoked public anger and criticism from human rights activists, who say they abuse people under the guise of enforcement.

Xia's wife, Zhang Jing, attracted attention with a haunting series of messages on her Sina Weibo account as she documented the day of his execution.

Early on Wednesday, she wrote, "I've vowed not to cry, to let my husband go peacefully."

Later, in a post forwarded more than 20,000 times, she wrote, "My mother-in-law is falling apart. She's sobbing hard, and her spirit isn't well. What can I do?"

(Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

 

[Untouchables]

Execution of street hawker ignites public outcry in China

The execution of Xia Junfeng, a Chinese street hawker, has ignited one of the largest public outcries in years, writes Malcolm Moore.

Xia Junfeng, his wife Zhang Jing, and their only son

By Malcolm Moore, Beijing
12:37PM BST 25 Sep 2013

In life, Xia Junfeng was a nobody: he lived hand-to-mouth, selling fried sausages from a food cart in the Chinese city of Shenyang and trying to raise his young son.

But his death on Wednesday morning ignited one of the largest public outcries in recent years, with the Chinese internet voicing its disgust at the Communist party.

Mr Xia's case began in May 2009, when a group of "chengguan", city officers charged with keeping the streets in order, confronted him as he manned his stall.

According to several witnesses who were later barred from testifying in his defence, he was beaten to the ground and his cart upturned.

The men then took him to a local detention centre for interrogation where Mr Xia pulled a knife and stabbed two of them to death before fleeing.

He claimed it was in self-defence, but he was convicted of double murder and given a suspended death sentence.

In China, the chengguan are notorious for their brutality. Earlier this year they beat a watermelon seller to death in Hunan province.

In Mr Xia's case, the public were quick to sympathise, despite his conviction, seeing him as another victim of chengguan violence. A campaign soon began to reverse his sentence.

By Tuesday night, however, the authorities had decided to execute him. In a series of heartbreaking tweets, his wife, Zhang Jing, chronicled her pain.

A painting by their 13-year-old son, Xia Jianqiang, showing him climbing on his father's back, also quickly went viral.

"Why do they have to do this to us. What can I do, I am so scared. Please help me. Please give Xia Junfeng a chance and some hope to me and my son," Mrs Zhang tweeted at 9.13pm on Tuesday night.

"Tonight is the third time in four years I am on the verge of breaking down. I swear I will not cry. I will let my husband leave in peace."

At 1.35am, she tweeted again that she was still awake, afraid that her crying would wake the couple's son.

By 6am on Wednesday morning, officials had sent a car for her to visit her husband. "I am crazy, I am about to leave," she tweeted.

In the midmorning she told the now huge number of supporters watching her tweets that a request for a family photograph with Mr Xia had been turned down flatly.

"He begged for them to take a photo of us and they refused. He begged for a photo of him to give to us, but they refused. Why must you be so brutal? Can't you let my son have a picture of him?"

Shortly afterwards, Mr Xia was executed and his remains cremated, prompting a flow of outrage over Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

"Mighty, glorious, always-correct Communist party, 30 times I ---- you," wrote Xiao Han, a professor.

"I am no legal expert, but I know a simple rule: If Gu Kailai can be spared of her life for a premeditated murder, then Xia Junfeng should not die," said Yao Bo, a former columnist in the state media, comparing Mr Xia's case to that of Bo Xilai's wife.

"Justice is dead," wrote Yi Chen, an author, adding: "His life and death are more than just a legal matter, but a bellwether of the era, with the tsunami-like public opinion firmly on the side of Xia Junfeng."

Meng Fei, a television anchor at Jiangsu Television with 32 million followers on Weibo, posted a picture of a candle next to Mr Xia's name.

There was no response to the outrage from Chinese officials, but Mrs Zhang left one final tweet acknowledging the support. "I told my husband this morning that many people are seeing him off. May he have peace."

Additional reporting by Adam Wu