Chinese citizens expressed support yesterday for a disabled man who set off an explosion at Beijing International Airport, injuring himself in an apparent protest against police brutality.
Messages of support were posted online after reports said 34-year old Ji Zhongxing (冀中星) was driven to the act by a years-long battle for justice after being severely beaten by police.
Wheelchair-bound Ji warned passengers in the airport before detonating the small device late on Saturday in an apparent attempt to draw attention to his case without harming others, the Beijing News reported.
A policeman who rushed to the scene was the only other person injured in the explosion, the state-run China Radio International said.
“He warned those passing by ... what a good member of the public. Who in this country is willing to stand up and say they are more righteous than him?” Zhao Xiao (趙曉), a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology, wrote on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo.
“He was not as crazed as the police who beat him in the first place,” another user said.
Ji moved from the eastern province of Shandong to work as a motorcycle driver in the southern city of Dongguan, where he was severely beaten by police staff in 2005, causing him to become disabled, according to multiple reports which could not be independently verified.
He had “lost all hope with society,” following an unsuccessful battle for compensation, Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix TV reported.
Ji was arrested at the scene of Saturday’s explosion and taken to hospital where he had his left hand amputated, the broadcaster said.
Reports said Ji had grown frustrated at China’s “petitioning” system, which allows citizens to file complaints directly with government departments.
Petitioners whose complaints have been ignored have for decades staged protests across China, with some using violent acts to draw attention to their case.
The bombing highlights flaws in the petition system, which is “basically not working,” Willy Wo-lap Lam (林和立), a China analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told reporters.
Ji and members of his family traveled to Beijing in 2009 to petition the authorities about his case, the Beijing Evening News reported.
Local governments have responded to a rise in petitions in recent years by employing networks of interceptors to catch petitioners who journey to Beijing, sometimes detaining them in illegal “black jails.” Analysts say such moves have fueled frustration.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has appointed a supreme court judge with some reformist credentials, but has made no major reforms to the legal system since taking office in March.
An unemployed man who had been a petitioner killed 47 people last month by setting off an explosion on a bus in the coastal city of Xiamen, state media reported.
Netizens favorably contrasted Ji’s decision to warn passengers with the behavior of the petitioner behind the Xiamen attack.
“It’s a big step forward ... because Ji chose to inflict the smallest amount of injury,” one Sina Weibo user wrote.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
RSS