January 3:
Authorities in Yueqing, Zhejiang, have posted notices threatening to punish anyone who “spreads rumors” about the suspicious death of a retired village chief. Qian Yunhui, the former head of Zhaiqiao village, fought for years to help fellow villagers petition for appropriate land compensation. Two witnesses told Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily and the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post that on December 25 they saw three masked men, in white gloves, seize Qian and force his head beneath the wheel of a truck. In response, hundreds of villagers protested Qian’s death and threw stones at police that appeared at major intersections to prevent their protest and arrest them. Officially, Qian died in an ordinary traffic accident and police have detained the truck’s driver, but photos of his lifeless corpse underneath the wheel of a large truck – his eyes shut, mouth half-open with blood streaming out and his head detached from his body – have spread on the internet, CNN reports.
January 5:
Hong Kong residents believe less of what they read, hear and see in local news media, a survey conducted by researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Journalism and Communication (CUHK) shows. The survey randomly polled 1206 residents over the phone in October and November and asked them to rate the credibility of 25 media organizations on a scale of one to ten. Government-run RTHK TV and radio are viewed as Hong Kong’s most credible news media sources. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) was rated Hong Kong’s most credible newspaper with a score of 6.85, followed by Ming Pao and the Economic Times. Respondents ranked Apple Daily, Ta Kung Pao and The Sun last. Electronic media’s average rating was 6.29 and print media’s was 5.92, but both recorded a drop in overall credibility among readers. The SCMP suggested that new ways to acquire information like Facebook and other social media have attracted readers away from traditional media outlets. Mak Yin-ting, who chairs the Hong Kong Journalists Association, attributed the poor ratings to high staff turnover and poor pay for journalists. “Many experienced journalists have left the industry. This affects the quality of news,” he said.
January 6:
Twenty-four school children between nine months and sixteen years old have been hospitalized in Huaning, Anhui with lead poisoning from nearby battery factories. Last month, authorities confirmed that, despite laws prohibiting factories from being located within 500m of residential areas, at least 200 of the 280 children living near the two battery factories were confirmed to have elevated lead levels. “We can draw a clear conclusion that the lead poisoning was caused by the lead pollution of the battery plants,” said Zhang Gong, director of the hospital's child healthcare department. One five-year-old boy tested was found to have 330.9 micrograms (mcg) per liter of blood, the BBC reports. A level of 100 mcg of lead per liter can impair brain development in children. Excessive amounts of lead can cause damage to the digestive, nervous and reproductive systems, anemia and convulsions. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of lead for batteries, cars and electric bikes.
January 8:
A prototype of China's next-generation stealth fighter, the Jian-20, maneuvered along a runway, but initial plans for a test flight were postponed. Officials at the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, the aircraft’s manufacturer, confirmed to Japan’s Asahi Shimbun that the aircraft was a stealth prototype and that high-ranking members of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission and Air Force officers had arrived to observe the test. A mechanical problem may have caused the abrupt cancellation of the flight test, the newspaper speculated.
[Editor’s Note: Once deployed, the Jian-20 could challenge U.S. air supremacy in the Asia-Pacific. The stealth aircraft, a potential rival to the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter, appears to be making faster-than-expected progress, the Wall Street Journal reports. Vice Admiral David J. Dorsett, director of U.S. naval intelligence, said China was advancing faster than expected in some areas, but could not tell from the Jian-20 pictures when it could be fully tested and operational.]
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