Wen Qiang, the former head of the Municipal Judicial Bureau of Chongqing, was executed yesterday by lethal injection. Wen had been convicted of a number of crimes ranging from protecting organized crime to accepting bribes to rape.
Most of today’s papers mentioned Wen’s execution on the front page today. In Chongqing, the municipal party newspaper, the Chongqing Daily, ran a short news item at the bottom of the front page. The somewhat redundant report first noted that Wen Qiang’s execution had been carried out, and then ran a list of the crimes he was charged followed by an identical list of the crimes he was convicted of, along with their corresponding punishment.
More commercial papers featured photos of the banners that locals unfurled outside of the court and other municipal government and party offices to greet the execution. A report in today’s Global Times translated one of the banners: “The corrupt official is dead. Justice has been served. The Party is wise and the State prospers.” The China Daily offered another: “Wen’s execution, Chongqing’s stability.”
The top banner on the cover of today’s Chongqing Economic Times adds to that: “Wen Qiang is dead. The people rejoice. Chongqing is at peace.”
- Chongqing Daily (Chinese): After Supreme People’s Court approval, Wen Qiang put to death yesterday
- China Daily: Former official executed by lethal injection
- Global Times: Ex-police boss of Chongqing put to death