Who is Zhao Hongxia? Wrong pics in the wrong place?

photo_shanghaiist (Photo credit: nozomiiqel)

The name Zhao Hongxia might sound familiar by now. She is supposedly the girl who was filmed while having sex with the Chongqing official Lei Zhengfu, as part of a major extortion scheme. A minor brawl has emerged as publications, like the Shanghaiist, published pictures of a girl, along Lei Zhengfu.

Issue at stake: should publications like the Shanghaiist not have protected the identity of the girl and not have published the pictures. It is a slightly academic issue, as the pictures are all over the internet, and the Shanghaiist decision could have been justified under the qualification that this is 'news'.
Unfortunately, few publications did their home work and failed to report the pictures might have been of somebody else. This is what the Chinese publications Ifeng published, translated by EastSouthWestNorth

Xiao Lin (pseudonym), a female student at a certain university in Xiamen city, was stunned when she came across an Internet news story about the mistress of Chongqing official Lei Zhengfu: "Isn't that my photographs?"
"Who linked my photographs with the principal of the indecent photographs? And they even spread it all over the Internet?" Xiao Lin was very angry. She never imagined that even though she was faraway in Xiamen, she would be swept into the Lei Zhengfu indecent photographs incident.
"How did I become a principal in the indecent photographs case? I don't know any Chongqing Communist Party secretary. The photographs on the Internet were taken at a certain film studio which posted them on the Internet. I also have them in my personal page, but the photographs are locked up," Xiao Lin said.
Xiao Lin said that a friend told her that someone had misappropriated her photographs. By the time she got on the Internet to check, the photographs has already spread everywhere.
"This is really vexing." Xiao Lin filed a police report yesterday. The public security bureau is investigating. She also said that she reserves the right to seek legal redress.

That makes the editorial decision by Shanghaiist (and others) to not only publish those pictures along with an incriminating story dubious. Of course they should apologize to the student who has been possibly wrongly connected with this Chongqing scandal. They might also be open for claims for damages, as they have not done anything to check the validity of those pictures.
Not sure what jurisdiction would apply here, since I'm quite sure the Shanghaiist has no publishing license in China. So, they could be found in a US court, as their mother company (Gothamist LLC) is American, defending themselves against the expensive legal representatives of this Xiamen student - that is, if the story in iFeng is correct.
This story is going to have a tail, although not sure if no new twists and turn might come up.

Chongqing's wealth based on sky-high debts - Victor Shih

Victor Shih

Disposed Chongqing leader Bo Xilai might have left behind a more prosperous city, that wealth comes at a price, as Chongqing's debts are far higher than China's average of already high liabilities, tells financial expert Victor Shih in the Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal:

Those debts likely represent only part of Chongqing's obligations, analysts say, because state-owned enterprises and property developers have liabilities of their own. The figures also exclude a number of smaller investment vehicles. 

"I don't think it would be a stretch to say that Chongqing local government, state-owned enterprises and state-owned developers collectively owed 1 trillion yuan at the end of 2011," says Victor Shih, an expert on China's local-government debt at Northwestern University. That estimate, based on Mr. Shih's own look through the records of Chongqing's financing vehicles, would put local-government debt in Chongqing at 100% of gross regional product, far higher than the 22% level for China as a whole, according to numbers from China's national audit office.

More in the Wall Street Journal

Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

More on Victor Shih and China's debts at Storify.

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Bo Xilai is not yet finished - Victor Shih

Victor Shih

Chongqing communist party boss Bo Xilia might have been sacked from his post as provincial leader, earlier today, but that does not mean the big shot is finished, explains political and financial analyst Victor Shih in Bloomberg.

Bloomberg:

Shih is author of “Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation” and has researched borrowing by about 8,000 local government entities in the nation. Bo was replaced by Zhang Dejiang, state news agency Xinhua reported today. 

“This series of events, starting from the walkabout of Wang Lijun and leading up to today is the strongest indication of elite tension we have seen since the arrest of Chen Liangyu.” 

Wang was an aide to Bo who is under investigation over spending a night at the U.S. consulate in Chengdu. Chen was fired as Shanghai Communist party chief in 2006 and later imprisoned for corruption. 

“I emphasize that the way the party seems to be dealing with Bo Xilai is a much milder way than the way that Chen Liangyu was treated, so far.” 

“You will hear other people say he’s finished. I’m not willing to say so at this point.” 

“I don’t think it is by any means the end of his political future. Deng Xiaoping made numerous comebacks after even more serious setbacks.”... 

“Zhang Dejiang and Bo Xilai both enjoyed a considerable amount of patronage from Jiang Zemin. If you believe that they are not necessarily in the same faction, but in the same kind of tendency in the party, then Zhang Dejiang would be a lot less likely to clean house in Chongqing than someone from the Youth League who wouldn’t have had those historical ties with Bo Xilai.” 

“People typically identified with the Youth League include Hu Jintao and Li Keqiang.” Hu is president of China and leader of the Communist party, and Li is a vice premier. 

“This strongly indicates there are major disagreements on how to interpret the events in Chengdu last month. The consensus is a compromise for now at least.”

More in Bloomberg.

Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

More on Victor Shih and China's debts on Storify.

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Vacation or political trouble for famous crime-fighter? - Jeremy Goldkorn

Jeremy Goldkorn

Holidays in China are over and the internet has its first meme, writes internet watcher Jeremy Goldkorn on his weblog at Danwei. Chongqing has sent its famous crime-fighter Wang Lijun on a therapeutically vacations. Or is the popular official running into political problems?

Jeremy Goldkorn:

On Thursday February 2, Chongqing’s Information Office announced that Wang Lijun (王立军)，the triad-busting police chief who has been working under Bo Xilai to crack down on gang crimes in Chongqing would be given a new portfolio in charge of economic affairs in place of his public security post.

Early on February 8, photos began circulating on Weibo showing a large police presence around the American consulate in Chengdu.

Soon after that, people on Twitter and Sina Weibo began speculating that Wang Lijun had sought refuge inside the U.S. consulate and was intending to defect.

More at Danwei's weblog

Jeremy Goldkorn is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.  

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Doing Business in Chongqing: A Wild Ride - Bill Dodson

Bill Dodson

Western companies are flocking into Central China, running into new unchartered territory, writes Bill Dodson in the China Business Services, an excerpt from his book. Local government are just one of the unpredictable dangers, like in Chongqing.

Great hidden costs lay in store for potential investors like: government corruption; changeable policies; inflated costs of production inputs; a lack of skilled labor and experienced management; and affordable salary levels high enough to attract Chinese nationals from the east coast.

John, a friend with whom I’d worked on a project in Kunshan, near Shanghai, spent two years building an export factory in Chongqing for a mid-sized American company. John explained to me, “The township where the factory is located ran out of its allotment of natural gas half-way into the year. Cheap supplies of natural gas was the ONLY reason the company had put the operation there. It’s even in the contract that the company will receive supplies of natural gas without interruption. So when the local government told me, ‘So sorry, no more gas for you,’ I was angry. One of the Vice Mayors of the township offered that if my company gave him 2 million RMB the local government would look the other way while I hooked up to the gas supplies in the next town over.”

More stories in the China Business Services or in his book China Inside Out: 10 Irreversible Trends Reshaping China and its Relationship with the World.

Bill Dodson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch.

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Chongqing: beating is in the air

Chongqing is getting not the right PR. ESWN picked up this set of pictures of a security guard dealing with a potential client in a less than courteous way. Again, not the way to a harmonious society.

Chongqing organizes itself a mass incident

A small BBQ-stall owner, beaten up by local authorities, ignited a massive riot and a burning government car in Chongqing op September 4, reports Global Voices. Despite effort to surpress the news, the internet got hold of it.

The power of a blog: the nail house revisited

A 26-year old vegetable seller from Hunan province, Zhou Shugang, used his weblog last month to tell the story about the Chongqing nailhouse, a story he covered in person, after the traditional media were banned from writing about it.

Now the weblog has only gained in popularity, writes the South China Morning Post, in a follow-up story.

Homeowners across the country flocked to the site in hopes of attracting attention to similar causes, among them 45-year-old Shanghai resident Chen Jialiang, whose house was flattened in his absence last year.
Mr Chen's trip to Chongqing did not yield him any mainstream media headlines, but he did secure a lengthy report with pictures on Mr Zhou's blog for himself and 12 other households in his district. Mr Chen said the exposure might lead to a breakthrough in his dispute with the developer.
"I'm very grateful to Zhou Shuguang for putting forward the case about our houses. Our problems would have been solved long ago if we had got the same attention that the Chongqing couple did."

A court fights for its independence

the Chongqing nailhouse

ESWN translates a great feature story in the Southern weekend that uses interviews with the main parties involved in this the cause of the Chongqing nail house, including Mrs Wu Ping. It is a great case study on change in China, but I want to stress one interesting element: the Jiulongpo district court director Zhang Li, is one of the main players in this drama.

He said that the pressure of the "nail house affair" was something "he had never encountered in forty years of living and may be a once-in-a-life-time thing."

Zhang Li had just started his job in this district on March 17 and got a crash course in media relations and discovered the power of the internet:

"At the time, I felt that it was a troublesome thing to deal with the media. I was afraid that I might say something wrong. I turned down media interviews. In retrospect, I can frankly say that I regret that." Almost a month later, he reflected to the reporter.

Zhang Li effectively refuses to join press conferences with the local government. He insists that his court should remain independent and throws himself into some arguments. He gets support:

As district party secretary, Zheng Hong recognized this. "In other countries, government officials and judges will not sit down together. But foreign reporters do not understand party leadership in China." In the end, the court held its own press conferences. Similarly, when the government held its own press conferences, the court did not participate.

Hectic scenes display at the government offices and many officials, including Zhang Li have sleepless nights. He has to oversee the negotiations, since his relative independence as a newcomer in the district. Chongqing was able to avoid a worst-case scenario.
Really worth to read the whole article.

Deal on Chongqing house

Yee reports that China's most famous house, the nailhouse in Chongqing, is now being demolished after a deal has been reached.

New deadline for Chongqing nailhouse

Josie Liu points at her (fairly new) weblog at the press conference by Huang Yun, the Chongqing districthead in charge of China's most famous house. At the picture he shows how beautiful the area is going to be after the nailhouse has been removed.

Huang announced a new deadline for demolishion: April 10, the third time a court has issued such an order.

Mr. Yang and his wife Wu Ping have refused to accept more than 2.4 million yuan ($300,000) of cash the developer would pay to them, but asked for an unit of the same position and area as their current property in the new business compound to be built on the same location, which happened to be a major commercial area in the city.

Blogger Zola investigates

Zola and Mrs Wuping

Most webloggers just sit behind their computer and do not investigate anymore, is a much heard complaint, especially from traditional journalists. But there are exceptions, shows Yee, pointing at blogging hero Zola, who is investigating the Chongqing nailhouse now Chinese media cannot write about it anymore.

The favorite blogger (of this moment) Zola is at the spot and Yee translates.

Chongqing beats sex and porn

Traffic to this weblog is going through the roof, I just noted. The Chongqing stories seem to do very well, even better than the sex-related stories and that is rather new.

Chongqing nailhouse gets a music clip

(h/t China Blog)
According to the latest, the stand-off is still ongoing.

Chongqing house hit by publication ban

The State Council Information office has banned all publications on the Chongqing house. Chongqing media were already forbidden to report about the house, but now all national media have to comply. From Ziji Space Blog, translated by CDT.

All domestic print press have received urgent notices from the State Council Information Office at 1:30 pm, March 24, no more reporting and commenting on the "nailhouse" event. All domestic online media also received urgent notices from the Information Office of State Council at 1:45 pm, March 24, no more reporting and commenting on the "nailhouse" event. All news related to this event must be pushed to the backend. All special feature pages are deleted. All comments function on this news are closed. By 2 pm the same day, all internet portals including sina, netease, sohu and QQ have deleted their special reporting pages on this story.

More at China Digital Times.

Spoofing the Chongqing house struggle

Yan Bing, the husband of Wu Ping, has now also reached celebrity status. Another pick up from Global Voices.

Mrs Wu Ping receives the media

Citizens report from the Chongqing site

John Kennedy documents for Global Voices the fallout on the internet of the Chongqing house of Mrs Wu Ping.
Many first hand reports from citizens who went to the place themselves.

I just got back from the scene. It’s not as busy there as I’d imagined, about two-three hundred Chongqing residents standing nearby on the bridge, on the railway track, supporting old Yang, just sixty to eighty meters away from old Yang’s fortress! Someone named Lin is down there organizing everyone to shout to old Yang, ‘be brave..!’ Old Yang flashed the flashlight over a few times in response! Old Yang is staying strong, keeping calm!

Who needs TV here?

the Chongqing house

Also Mr. Wuping now jumps into action

Venture 160 is on top of things after he earlier today translated the CCTV-interview with Mrs. Wuping, now he has the story (and the picture) on Mr. Yang Wuping who has re-occupied the house, waving the Chinese flag from the roof.

Now the Wuping's have secured the help of the central government in their struggle, the case is fast becoming a dimension faster. Without doubts there will be thousands of potential Wuping's watching this repport, where the central and local political forces collide, rush out to buy a flag and wait for a crew of CCTV to arrive. This mouse is going to have a very long tail.

Mrs Wuping

Chongqing's incredible house gets a face

You might remember the pictures I published earlier (as this many others) on the incredible house in Chongqing and the many stories that were emerging on the internet.
While the local media could not publish about the most famous house in Chongqing, the stories kept on spreading on the internet, often hardly based on any facts. But that forced national media like CCTV to bring the story and Venture160 did a great job in translating the interview. It is a very nice combination of story-lines and illustrates how courts, property developers, local government and the media interact, with the internet as a major destructive force (from almost every perspective.)

The incredible Chongqing house

More pictures and stories are emerging since I posted this first picture of the amazing house in Chongqing earlier in the week. Venture 160 has done some translating here. Unlike earlier stories, this is not a protest, but the house used by the construction company:

One netizen said this wasn’t a holdout at all, it was actually the contractor’s temporary residence, there were also other netizens who supported this position.
After verification, this was determined as Chongqing city’s “Broadway” real estate construction site currently being put up in the residential quarter.