Taishi, China
A Chinese pro-democracy activist was beaten unconscious this week, directly in front of a British reporter. Lu Banglie was taking The Guardian’s Benjamin Joffe-Walt to a village where peasants had been demonstrating against corruption by local officials. A drunken mob, believed to be thugs hired by those officials, pulled Lu out of the taxi, hitting, kicking, and stomping on him until he passed out, bleeding. Police, standing by, did not intervene. The injured Lu said authorities were trying to crush the grassroots democracy movement that has been spreading across rural China. “They try to prevent news from leaking out,” he said, “which hurts not only the democratization of Taishi village but the entire country.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
