Chinese Blogger Becomes Celebrity Exposing Corruption

hackingbear writes "The New York Times reports the story of a Chinese blogger named Zhu Ruifeng who has become an overnight celebrity in China. He posted a secretly recorded video of an 18-year-old woman having sex with a 57-year-old official from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing. The official, along with 10 others, lost their jobs and are now under investigation. Mr. Zhu says ordinary citizens have come to rely on the Internet for retribution, even if it often amounts to mob justice. 'We used to say that when you have a problem, go to the police,' he said. 'Now we say when you have a problem, go to the netizens.' He has become a litmus test of how committed China's new leaders are in their battle against corruption — and whether they can tolerate populist crusaders like Mr. Zhu."

Good about the angle on this one

[DNS-and-BIND]

Interesting angle on this one! This guy is actually the hero. Amazing! I don't think I could have imagined a scenario by which a man secretly tapes an 18-year-old girl being raped, posts it on the internet without her consent, and is viewed positively by Western society...but here it is! I was thinking the man would be a hate object like when this scenario usually happens, but change the role of the man in the video and he becomes the good guy.

Re:But how long will this last?

[hairyfish]

The last Chinese revolution was only 40 years ago, the one before that was only 60 years ago. "Change nothing" is hardly the right phrase to use when talking about Chinese political history.

Re:But how long will this last?

[hackingbear]

Agree! No, there is no corruption in the US. There are only political contributions which is perfectly legal. And you only need to pay it when you need to change the law to your flavor. There is no political contribution in China, there is only corruption which could get you executed. That's the differences in the system designs. I actually think China will eventually go the US system -- election + political contributions. Not because it is good, but because it is more stable.

Re:But how long will this last?

[DNS-and-BIND]

"One of the things I have always found troubling about Westerners doing business in emerging market countries is that they sometimes take an almost perverse pride in discussing payoffs to government officials. It is as though their having paid a bribe is a symbol of their international sophistication and insider knowledge. Yet, countless times when I am told of the bribe, I know the very same thing could almost certainly have been accomplished without a bribe."
--Dan Harris, chinalawblog.com

Re:Stay low

[Anonymous Coward]

Note that NTD is founded by the Falun Gong and biased.

This South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) report [scmp.com] makes the attack sound more complicated, with his wife being charged, though also with reports that others were present.

Though obviously that could all be a cover-up, and I don't trust what the cops in China say..