A man was put into jail for 10 days and fined 500 RMB for his extended rant about potholes. He was charged with defamation of a government official after he launched a personal campaign against the director of the local transportation bureau.
The man posted three messages online alongside photos of potholes in section of the 210 National Expressway on June 26, and accused the director, Ma, of accepting 12 million RMB in bribes from the contracting firm.
The posts went viral and were reposted over 10,000 times, attracting the attention of local authorities. After police investigated, it transpired that Ma had only taken up office in May; a month after the highway was completed.
Despite Ma deciding not to press charges, Chen was arrested and detained.
Defamation of an official is punishable with up to three years in prison and rather worringly, ‘depravation of political rights’. Unfortunately for Chen, the pothole problem is as yet, unsolved.
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Keywords: Man Arrested for Complaining About Potholes Online
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Oh god I am tired of this nonsense, they keep talking about freedom and happiness of life, they just think their life is just ways better than anyone else out of china, and when they get out of china and get the real taste of that freedom, they will ruin it with million excuses as the food is bad, the weather is cold, or the people are boring etc.... The thing is they have been living in jail for a long time, that when it comes to freedom, they just don't know what the hell they could do with it. Well I hope that hotpot, yuxi and qingtao beer is totally worth it....
Jul 18, 2014 07:39 Report Abuse
I love it when Chinese tell me that they have freedom of speech.
Jul 16, 2014 21:48 Report Abuse
Only those in power can accuse 'important' officials of taking bribes. Surely Chinese people know by now that they are meaningless to their lords and ladies. It is for the upper class to decide who goes down for being corrupt or breaking the law. The other billion of you are nothing but fodder and replacement for factories and offices.
Jul 16, 2014 21:14 Report Abuse
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