The peril of discussing official business in enclosed spaces

Here’s a great correction from Hangzhou News Net:

News Correction

On 3 July, this website published an article titled “In the course of duty, Xu Xinxian…” We recently received criticism and corrections from upper-level news departments. This article was published by an intern, Zhang Yang, who was a temporary hire at our website. Since graduating from school, this reporter had had no real-world experience. That day, Zhang Yang coincidentally was at the scene of the events; he was eager to publish the news but was later prevented from doing so. However, after a few days, Zhang Yang published the information. This had a negative effect; it smeared party cadres and wasted the time of the general online population. This website has already decided to dismiss that reporter and withhold that month’s salary and bonus.

As for the article “In the course of duty, Xu Xinxian…”, this website makes the following clarifications (update: the correction has been taken down and replaced with a second clarification):

1. The article had not been reviewed or approved by the leaders so it should not have been published unilaterally. The article’s contents were completely at odds with the facts. We hereby offer our readers our sincere apologies;
2. Xu Xinxian is just a normal small-town worker, not some leading party cadre;
3. Xu Xinxian may have died due to some sudden medical condition; it occured in his private car, not in a government car. At the scene of the incident, Xu Xinxian was alone in the car and he was properly dressed – he was not naked;
4. As for who the other person was, it is currently unclear. At any rate it was not a woman cadre; the individual was not in the same car and was not naked. Apart from being a normal worker, other details are still being investigated by relevant departments;
5. Matters related to Xu Xinxian are still being investigated by relevant departments; Lin’an’s newspapers have not made any reports, so general readers are requested not to engage in excessive discussion, but to trust in the party and trust its organizations.

The original news item described how Xu Xinxian “died in the course of duty” when he passed away in his car, naked, while discussing public affairs with a woman. Here’s that first report:

Breaking News: Xu Xinxian, party secretary of Qingliangfeng Town, Lin’an City, and an outstanding party member, recently sacrificed himself in the course of duty. Secretary Xu Xinxian, engaged in official business, overworked himself day and night; ultimately his strength gave out and he passed away in a sedan together with an outstanding woman cadre of the town. Reportedly, secretary Xu Xinxian and that cadre were discussing official business inside the sedan when the air conditioning lost power due to fuel running out, and the interior of the car reached seriously high temperatures. The car was parked in a garage; to cool down, the two individuals took off their clothing yet continued to discuss business until they died. The common people of Qingliangfeng Town are fortunate to have had such a conscientious and responsible party secretary. The secretary worked for the people every moment of every day, and right before his death was still personally working for women. His work record should be remembered in everyone’s heart.

Although it’s hard to imagine such a report appearing on a straight news site, it actually ran on Hangzhou News Net (oddly, the date listed on the site is 1 June even though the article ID places it in July).

The news item proved extraordinarily popular online. According to later rumors and leaked information, the woman was Pan Lihang, the 29-year-old head of the town’s Women’s Federation. The two apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning on 30 June. The local government was also said to have issued orders that the deceased not be given memorial services, that their funerals be understated, and that no reports were to be made of the affair. The usual deletion of forum posts followed.

Other rumors included:

· The two had actually died on the 26th but were not discovered until the 29th because people thought they had gone to Shanghai;

· Xu had been publicly commended for his work on behalf of the party in 2006, making his death all that much more of an embarrassment that needed to be covered up;

· Pan was either two or four months pregnant;

· Their families refused to take their bodies.

It’s unclear how much of this (if any) is true. However, one important lesson to learn from this is to be careful when running the air conditioning in your car while parked in a garage, particularly if you have a lot of business to discuss.

via Lian Yue.