Page 107 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 5. The Sun Zhigang incident

China during the case and develops its definition, analysing its three key elements. It

attempts to investigate the Sun Zhigang incident under the information regime theory,
and analyses the changing relationship between public and the government at the start
of the digital age.

5.2 A satisfactory solution gained by the grassroots campaign

The Sun Zhigang incident took place at 2003. It was a milestone that promoted
the construction of China’s legal system and implied an increasing watchdog role for
both traditional and new media (Xu, 2014). It was the very first time in Chinese media
history that an ordinary citizen was given extensive attention in the national media,

which made Sun a known figure nationwide and his case a media event (Yu, 2006).
The incident took place during a nationwide fight against Severe Acute Respirato-
ry Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. In the spring of that year, the internet became the main
channel for the dissemination and exchange of information as people were confined to

their homes to avoid contracting the virus. This set the stage for a national reflection
on China’s socio-political system, especially in relation to the state’s incompetence in
reacting to the epidemic, and the failure of the mainstream media to give it timely cov-
erage during the early stages of the outbreak.

5.2.1 The trigger for the campaign – key moments of a citizen’s abnor-
mal death

Sun Zhigang, a 27-year-old male graduate from Wuhan Technical Institute, was

employed as a graphic designer in the Guangzhou Daqi Garment Company. At about
10 p.m. on 17 March, 2003, he was questioned by a police officer on his way to a local
internet cafe. Because Sun was not carrying his identification card and failed to provide
proof of his registered work unit and temporary residence permit in Guangzhou, he
was taken to a local police substation on suspicion of being a Sanwu . On the detainee
9
registration form, in response to the questions, ‘Do you have a permanent address?’
and ‘What is your income source in Guangzhou’, the answers recorded were ‘None’.

9 ‘Sanwu’ refers to an illegal migrant without a valid identification certificate, a Temporary Residence
Permit or a valid employment certificate.

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