Page 113 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 5. The Sun Zhigang incident

‘we expect conversations, discussions and public participation on the internet. We

expect professionals both in Law and other academic areas to think about the case
and offer suggestions. We also expect the government to response actively to the
public opinion and to form effective interaction’ (Teng, 2003, N.P.) .
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At least four major national papers – the People’s Daily Online, China Youth Dai-
ly, Workers Daily and Legal Daily – reported on the petition at great length, and the in-

formation was disseminated nationwide through the internet. On 15 May, the People’s
Daily Online posted an article titled ‘Through the Sun Zhigang Case: Investigate if cus-
tody and repatriation policy is contrary to China’s Constitution’ (Chen, 2005). On 16

May, the China Youth Daily published a report titled ‘Three Chinese citizens submitted
a formal petition to NPCSC in accordance with the law’. The report stated that the three
legal scholars were not merely concentrating on the Sun case, but were focused on the
entire C&R system (Lian and Han, 2013). Print media, together with internet news pro-
viders, worked to keep the case in the spotlight, ensuring the coordination of newspaper

and internet news reports. Meanwhile, public discussions about the case continued in
internet chatrooms (Liebman, 2005).
Reports contained in those principal papers had a remarkable effect; the press

joined in on a national scale, striving for justice for Sun and exposing similar abuse cas-
es at detention centres elsewhere. On 21 May, a large group of professionals and well-
known scholars had a conversation and discussion about the Sun Zhigang case and the
C&R system in Beijing (Long, 2007). On 23 May, another group of five legal experts
(including the well-known Chinese jurist He Weifang) filed a second petition which

ensured the issue of migrant workers stayed in the spotlight (Yuan, 2003). Emphasis on
the C&R system for detaining migrant workers contradicted the authorities’ attempts to
argue that Sun’s death was an isolated case.

On 18 May, Sun Zhigang’s cremation ceremony was held in Guangzhou. An on-
line memorial website titled ‘Heaven does not need a Temporary Residence Permit’
was created by Sun Zhigang’s friends, which drew nearly 300,000 people to mourn on
this website.

13 Translation provided by the author.

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