Page 204 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Feasibility Study of New Media Technology
on Constructing Online Public Sphere

about relocation compensation. Hence, the Zhong family refused to move out, and this

became the fuse for the subsequent tragedy.

7.3.1 Stage 1: Fuse of the Yihuang case – conservative mainstream me-
dia

From 18 April 2010, the Zhongs faced a very difficult situation to live in (Wang

and Wu, 2010). On the morning of 10 September 2010, the Yihuang county officers
went to the Zhong family and asked them to relocate. During the process, the officers
quarrelled with the Zhong family members. Moreover, the Zhongs tried to avoid the
relocation and three of the family members hurt themselves during the confrontation. In

the end, all three were rescued and taken to an ambulance. They were sent to a hospital
in the provincial capital, Nanchang (ibid). This stopped the planned forced relocation.
After the hurting occurred, the remaining photos which recorded the entire process of
the incident were shot by the Zhong’s neighbour, who lived some distance away (Ma,

2012).
A local citizen in Nanchang came to the hospital on 11 September 2010. He dis-
covered the case and offered to help by appealing over the internet. The following day
when the eldest sister, Zhong Rucui, checked the internet, she saw that their family

news had made headlines and caused a stir on the Internet web (Wang and Wu, 2010).
Southern Metropolis Daily and Xiaoxiang Morning were the first two mainstream
newspapers to report the incident on 12 September 2010 (Lam, 2010).
On 14 September 2010, the People’s Daily published a commentary titled ‘The

people whose houses are to be demolished cannot always safeguard rights by relying
on “self-harm”’. The article stated that:
‘The protection and remedy of civil rights cannot wait to the moment when con-
flict breaks out. A citizen whose house is to be demolished usually stands in a

weak position; they have poor bargaining and negotiation skills. In such scenario,
it is important to guarantee citizens’ right to know and to participate, which can
have positive influence in the rights remedy process. Completing the price esti-
mation system of house demolition, hearing system, and other legal systems that

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