China News  
SINO DAILY
Aide to former Chinese president Hu Jintao jailed for life: media
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) July 4, 2016


Chinese rights activist 'kills self after murdering two': reports
Beijing (AFP) July 4, 2016 - A Chinese human rights activist has been found dead a week after he allegedly killed two people at a bus stop on a Beijing street, local media said Monday.

Jin Zhongqi was found dead a week after the double killing, in what appeared to be a suicide, according to the Beijing Times newspaper, an affiliate of Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.

Jin, 59, helped house homeless petitioners, people who travel to the capital in an effort to get central authorities to right local government malfeasance.

On June 27, Jin got into an argument over a "toe stepping incident" with passengers on a bus, the Beijing Times cited eyewitnesses as saying.

After alighting he allegedly fatally stabbed two people and injured a third, before fleeing on foot, it added.

Police issued a wanted notice for him, offering a 50,000 yuan ($7,500) reward.

Ahead of the killings Jin -- who had previously been put under house arrest -- posted photos on social media of people on a bus, saying they were state security agents who were following him, fellow activist Dong Jiqin told AFP.

"Jin said before that security agents would stop him from using public transport sometimes, they would interfere with his daily life," Dong said, adding he had not seen him in about six months.

"He was a good man who helped other people in the community of human rights advocates," Dong told AFP.

Jin had previously served a 12 year prison sentence, according to Dong.

China's President Xi Jinping has overseen a crackdown on dissent since coming to power in 2012, with hundreds of lawyers, activists and academics detained and dozens jailed.

Police in Beijing did not answer questions faxed to them by AFP about the identities of the victims and the circumstances of Jin's suicide.

China bus arsonist who killed 18 condemned to die
Beijing (AFP) July 4, 2016 - A man convicted of killing 18 people when he set a public bus on fire in China has been sentenced to death, authorities said.

Ma Yongping, 34, in January set alight the bus in Yinchuan, capital of the remote northern region of Ningxia, leaving 18 people dead and another 32 injured.

He was convicted of arson and sentenced to death by the Yinchuan Intermediate People's Court on Sunday, the city government said in a social media posting.

Ma admitted his actions but said he would appeal against the sentence, according to the government statement.

A college graduate who had studied in Japan, Ma had accumulated more than 300,000 yuan ($46,000) in debts while a contractor on an engineering project, much of it salaries for his workers, according to previous Chinese media reports.

The company refused to pay him, they said, and on the morning of the attack he sent friends a message on chat application WeChat saying: "At a time when even a person's basic rights can't be guaranteed, he has a right to take action to fight for (them)."

Chinese citizens have sometimes turned to violence against innocents in attempts to publicise their plight after failing to obtain redress for low-level disputes.

In 2013 a man started a fire on a vehicle in Xiamen in the eastern province of Fujian, killing 47 people including himself, after writing online he had appealed unsuccessfully to local police 56 times over social security benefits.

An ex-aide of former Chinese president Hu Jintao has been jailed for life for corruption, illegally obtaining state secrets and abuse of power, official media reported Monday.

Ling Jihua pleaded guilty and said he would not appeal, Xinhua news agency said, citing the verdict of the First Intermediate People's Court in Tianjin, which held his trial in secret last month.

"The trial today is engraved on my bones and in my heart," it quoted Ling as saying in his final statement to the court.

His case was the lead item on state broadcasters CCTV's nightly news programme which showed the former official, wearing a white shirt and glasses, humbly accepting his sentence.

"I take this opportunity to express thanks to the court for a trial in accordance with the law and its humane treatment," he said.

Chinese courts are controlled by the ruling Communist party, which expelled Ling -- once Hu's chief of staff -- from its ranks last year.

The verdict and sentence come as part of a high-profile corruption crackdown by current President Xi Jinping that has deposed of several senior officials, notably former security chief Zhou Yongkang, who was himself jailed for life last year.

Graft is endemic in China's authoritarian system, and Xi has acknowledged it as a threat to the ruling party's survival.

But critics say that a lack of transparency around the purge means it has been an opportunity for Xi to eliminate political enemies.

- 'Lenient sentence' -

Ling's son died in a notorious Ferrari crash in Beijing that disrupted the once-in-a-decade party leadership change when Xi took over from Hu in 2012.

Ling had powerbases in the northern province of Shanxi and the Communist Youth League -- seen as a proving ground for politicians who, unlike Xi, do not benefit from family links to high-ranking revolutionaries.

One of his brothers, Ling Zhengce, a senior official in Shanxi, was put under investigation in 2014 for serious violations of "discipline and the law" -- a euphemism for corruption -- and expelled from the party last year.

Another brother, Ling Wancheng, has fled to the United States, a Chinese anti-graft official confirmed in January, adding Beijing was "in touch" with Washington about his case.

His exile has led to speculation in overseas Chinese media that Ling Jihua had given him top state secrets, including the launch codes for China's nuclear weapons, to secure some leverage in negotiations with Beijing over his case.

Under Chinese law the death penalty is available for corruption cases, but Xinhua said Ling was given a reduced sentence for having "faithfully" confessed to his crimes and being penitent for his actions.

It was "a relatively lenient sentence", Willy Lam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong told AFP. "It's possible Ling drove a bargain with authorities."

His former boss Hu was probably safe, Lam added, saying that the former president "made a wise decision by refusing to support Ling".

But other Hu proteges "may now be blocked from promotion" as Xi consolidates his power over the government, he said.

- 'Especially vile' -

The Ferrari crash involving Ling's son scandalised China -- despite a media blackout on the mainland -- partly because two young women, one nude and one partially clothed, were also injured in the crash, with one reportedly dying months later.

Internet users questioned how the son of a party official could afford a car reported to be worth five million yuan ($150,000).

The politician, his wife and son received bribes worth a total of 77.1 million yuan, Xinhua said.

The court found that the bribes Ling took were "exceptionally enormous" and "the criminal circumstances" under which he obtained state secrets were severe, according to the report.

His abuse of power caused "huge losses to public property and the interests of the state and the people" and had "especially vile social impact", it said.

When Ling was charged the country's national prosecuting authority said he "abused his power" as director of the General Office of the Communist Party's Central Committee, where he worked under Hu.

In several party leadership posts he "illegally received large amounts of property and obtained state secrets", it added.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
SINO DAILY
Hong Kong officials to visit Beijing for talks over bookseller
Hong Kong (AFP) July 4, 2016
A senior Hong Kong delegation will head to Beijing for talks following explosive revelations by a bookseller who said he was detained for eight months on the mainland, the city's leader said Monday. Lam Wing-kee, 61, has said he was seized after crossing the border into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, taken away blindfolded and then kept in a cell without access to a lawyer for allege ... read more


SINO DAILY
West China Cement shares plunge following deal collapse

China cement deal collapses amid oversupply woes

Scotland's tartan and whisky makers hold breath after Brexit

Airbnb sues over registration of San Francisco homes

SINO DAILY
Study finds that plant growth responses to high carbon dioxide depend on symbiotic fungi

New study compares transportation energy efficiency of local and conventional food

Nobel winners slam Greenpeace on GMO crops

New farming strategies can help prevent soil runoff while maintaining high crop yields

SINO DAILY
Rwanda hikes import duties on secondhand clothes

Nigeria's ex-air force chief charged with money laundering

Why are UN forces returning control of security to Liberia?

Seven Niger gendarmes killed in refugee camp attack

SINO DAILY
Volkswagen out to fix big diesels in emissions scandal

Tesla fatal crash is setback to autonomous cars

VW still long way from drawing line under engine-rigging scandal

Record VW payout in US 'dieselgate' settlement

SINO DAILY
EDF nuclear project 'more difficult' after Brexit: Sapin

Expert says most nuclear fuel melted at Fukushima nuclear plant

Mitsubishi joins EDF in bid to save reactor builder Areva

Putin: Russia, China to Step Up Nuclear Energy Cooperation

SINO DAILY
New artificial intelligence beats tactical experts in combat simulation

China's top internet regulator steps down

How well do facial recognition algorithms cope with a million strangers?

US military's cyber force reluctant to cut Internet in Syria

SINO DAILY
Ukraine launches joint military drills with NATO

US destroyer came 'dangerously close' to Russian ship: Moscow

Move for independence on the table for Scotland

EU should do more for its own defence: Mogherini

SINO DAILY
More wind power added to French grid

How China can ramp up wind power

Scotland investing more in offshore wind

Gamesa, Siemens join forces to create global wind power leader









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.