Fury in China over online death photo

Xiyun Yang and Edward Wong December 30, 2010
BEIJING: The photograph is so graphic that it appears cartoonish at first glance. A man lies on a road with his eyes closed, blood streaming from his half-open mouth, his torso completely crushed under the large tyre of a red truck. One arm reaches out from beneath the tyre. His shoulder is a bloody pile of flesh. His head is no longer attached to the flattened spinal cord.
The man in the photograph, Qian Yunhui, 53, has become the latest internet sensation in China, as thousands of people viewing the image online since the weekend have accused government officials of killing Mr Qian to silence his six-year campaign to protect fellow villagers in a land dispute. Illegal land seizures by officials are common in China, but the horrific photographs of Mr Qian's death on Saturday ignited widespread fury.
It is the latest in a string of cases in which anger against the government has been fanned by the lightning-fast spread of information online. Officials in the city of Yueqing, which supervises Mr Qian's home village, insist that the photographs show an unfortunate traffic accident. Mr Qian's family, some Chinese reporters and residents of Zhaiqiao Village cite the photographs as proof of foul play and a sloppy cover-up.
It is unclear who took the photographs, but they first appeared on Sunday afternoon on Tianya, a popular online forum.
Chinese internet users were drawn to the fact that the land dispute involving Mr Qian is a common narrative in China.
In 2004 the city government approved the construction of a power plant in Zhaiqiao Village. The company building the plant got virtually all the arable land in the village, and the villagers received no compensation, according to a blog post that was written four months ago under Mr Qian's name.
Mr Qian travelled to Beijing to file a petition with the central authorities. City officials said Mr Qian had been arrested, found guilty of criminal conduct and imprisoned at least twice. Mr Qian continued his crusade after being released from prison. The New York Times

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/fury-in-china-over-online-death-photo-20101229-19a95.html