[Verv]

Some parts are emboldened by myself:

The United States has said it is "deeply disturbed" by reports of the death of activist Cao Shunli at a hospital in Beijing.

Cao's lawyers said she had died in detention after being denied medical treatment for several months.

The human rights activist was arrested at Beijing airport in September, when she attempted to board a flight to Geneva to attend a UN training course.

She had previously served at least two terms in prison camps for her activism.

Human Rights Watch said that Cao was only transferred to hospital in February, despite her medical condition worsening in her months in detention.

Cao had advocated for the right of independent civilians to participate in the Chinese government's drafting of human rights reports.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the US had repeatedly raised concerns about Cao Shunli's detention and deteriorating health with the Chinese authorities.

BBC

And so they quietly let her die.

I wonder if there is much awareness of her death (or even her life) in China, or whether or not she is more well known abroad?

Regardless, it just goes to show that in China if you mess with the bull, you get the horns.

Slowly. Over an extended period of time so as to not raise concerns.

[benpenguin]

All of these evaporating human rights activists never ever make the news in China. The media would never touch it with a 10 foot pole.
They do make a big fuss in Hong Kong though.

But then, if an activist gets gold class treatment in UN, I'd bet she is a sponsored CIA whore.

[JackEs]

I wonder if there is much awareness of her death (or even her life) in China, or whether or not she is more well known abroad?

Regardless, it just goes to show that in China if you mess with the bull, you get the horns.

Slowly. Over an extended period of time so as to not raise concerns.

I am pretty sure news like this will be censored in China so mass majority wont have any awareness.

Also China has tight censorship on Weibo(Twitter equivalent) and Weixin(Whatsapp equivalent), many political critiques have been either banned from posting or arrested.

[Goldberk]

All of these evaporating human rights activists never ever make the news in China.

This is true, but social rights movements are getting more attention from Chinese media, which is preferable to human rights individuals.

[benpenguin]

Sometimes it depend on how you voice your opinions, even the state newspaper will criticize the government on occasion.

On Weibo / Wechat you have lots of posts exposing corrupt officials, denouncing government policies or outright attacking the CCP. Some of them are treated as "constructive critism", while others land their author in jail.

It's a fine line to tread.

On the other hand, I don't think "Human rights movements" are gaining steam in China at all.

[Verv]

That seems true, Ben. It is all about the context of it.

But let us also remember that the approval of the outing of some corrupt officials and some policies might also be approved of by certain officials -- it eliminates some rivals, after all, and it is likely to also make people cool their heads off if they see the government respond to things.

They are able to socially engineer the people how they wish and thus give an illusion of democracy.

Sounds a bit like the USA & Europe, really, but since it is in its nascent form and is still developing it still is relatively uncouth. There are also more hiccups because of the poverty rate inspiring people towards complaints.

[benpenguin]

Many of these exposed corrupt officers are not high ranking in the party, it wouldn't take much to oust them, with or without social media. I actually believe these are genuine attempts to fight corruption. However, although a sign of improvement, I don't think this is completely a good thing.

On one hand, it shows that the government fears public opinion and is willing to bend to its will every now and then, even using it as an unofficial monitor to get rid of bad apples.

On the other hand, the ousting of corrupt officials are very swift and hasn't usually undergone any serious process of law or investigation. It's mostly done on a whim. That encourages mob justice - which is quite a problem in China now. For example, when people see a police chase they will actually attack the alleged criminal PHYSICALLY, and such behavior is encouraged on the media - kind of a different topic though...

What China doing is actually not just as simple as "illusions of democracy" - as most Chinese people don't care much about that. It's the government finding a way to listen to the people without losing control. I would consider "democracy" just another form of this same dynamic - a "structured" way to approach conflict/conversation between authority and the public, which is something that China is still learning and adapting to.

[Verv]

I appreciate your analysis, Benpenguin. And I agree with it a lot.

I think that this would even bring up the topic that mob justice and mob mentality are still prevalent in other parts of Asia.

I have heard this said of India and a good example would be the clamor over finding the specific rapists in the recent case as opposed to making meaningful changes to perceptions and policies. There was a great hubbub about that.

There is also Korea that is able to quickly foment mass protests against the government if it is all phrased just right, protests against things like American beef, that at the end of the day do not actually make scientific sense and are moreso simply to protect the domestic market...

I think that any society which emphasizes a collective identity, and one that highly values group membership, is perhaps likely to have more mob justice.

On one hand, it is a strength; on the other, it is a liability.

[benpenguin]

I think mob justice is present in all countries, east or west - but you are right - In collectivist cultures it is likely more prevalent.
In China's case, the government doesn't even seem to realize that it is going to be a problem for them in the long run.

[Verv]

I think mob justice is present in all countries, east or west - but you are right - In collectivist cultures it is likely more prevalent.
In China's case, the government doesn't even seem to realize that it is going to be a problem for them in the long run.

That is true.

We emphasize certain points, and we de-emphasize others, and we do not realize what a big affect that has on those around us. Before we know it, they use the examples and standards that we set in a way that is surprising - yet consistent - and has become a threat to us.

[JackEs]

Many of these exposed corrupt officers are not high ranking in the party, it wouldn't take much to oust them, with or without social media. I actually believe these are genuine attempts to fight corruption. However, although a sign of improvement, I don't think this is completely a good thing.

On one hand, it shows that the government fears public opinion and is willing to bend to its will every now and then, even using it as an unofficial monitor to get rid of bad apples.

On the other hand, the ousting of corrupt officials are very swift and hasn't usually undergone any serious process of law or investigation. It's mostly done on a whim. That encourages mob justice - which is quite a problem in China now. For example, when people see a police chase they will actually attack the alleged criminal PHYSICALLY, and such behavior is encouraged on the media - kind of a different topic though...

What China doing is actually not just as simple as "illusions of democracy" - as most Chinese people don't care much about that. It's the government finding a way to listen to the people without losing control. I would consider "democracy" just another form of this same dynamic - a "structured" way to approach conflict/conversation between authority and the public, which is something that China is still learning and adapting to.

It's funny that almost all of these exposed corrupt officers are "vice" of that rank, the "chief" are excused 99.99% of the time, unless the oust is a very political case, like Bo Xilai.

[Ter]

It is a sad story but the US has no business criticising China.
How many mentally retarded prisoners are on death row in the US ?
How many prisoners on death row committed their crime when they were still juveniles ?
How many Central American soldiers were trained by America in the fine art of torturing prisoners ?
Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house.

[ThereBeDragons]

Once again China learns from Mao. He couldn't kill Zhou Enlai, so he just permitted him to die of an easily treatable cancer. Letting people die is so much more convenient than killing them.

[ThirdTerm]

Cao had been denied treatment for her various ailments, such as tuberculosis and liver disease, and was barred from taking the medication she had with her while in captivity and there were also unexplainable wounds on Cao's shoulders. The human rights activist may have been tortured after she was arrested on a charge of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles" with Chinese authorities, leading to her sudden death after six months in detention. Chinese political dissidents are dealing with one of the most atrocious dictatorships in the modern era, which makes them even more courageous than activists in other parts of the world. Li Na famously split from the Chinese state's tennis system in 2008 and she refused to express any thanks for China when she won the Australian Open and she looked extremely uncomfortable when she was photographed with a Communist official, which was a form of political protest.

Returning to her home province of Hubei this week, Li was greeted by a government official who presented her with a check for 800,000 yuan - the equivalent of $132,000. Chinese social media was quick to notice that Li was photographed with a notably grim expression on her face. The official Xinhua news agency also weighed in, carrying a commentary on Wednesday that called the event "embarrassing" and "money-worshipping". It cited Xiao Huanyu, a sports professor in Shanghai, as saying: "The government deems sports achievement a kind of political achievement. Therefore it needed to hand out the bonus to 'show its face' even though Li Na's triumph had little to do with the government." The public reaction was largely supportive of Li's apparent disgust. “A lot of people seemed to agree with her expression,” said Chin. "[They] essentially wondered why the government was giving her this money.”
http://www.voanews.com/content/tennis-star-li-nas-bonus-sparks-chinese-public-outrage/1841989.html

[benpenguin]

It's funny that almost all of these exposed corrupt officers are "vice" of that rank, the "chief" are excused 99.99% of the time, unless the oust is a very political case, like Bo Xilai.

You are correct, and it should be that way. China is just starting to warm up to free speech a bit, and expect it to go overnight into freedom democracy and unicorns would be very unrealistic.

Besides, if the normal Joe can oust a top ranking official by a fucking Weibo post then what authority is left in the country?

[benpenguin]

Chinese political dissidents are dealing with one of the most atrocious dictatorships in the modern era, which makes them even more courageous than activists in other parts of the world.

Backward and authoritarian yes...most atrocious in the modern era? Not sure about that.
They killed 1 political dissident that has the intention to destabilize the regime, who happens to be an "Internationally recognized" activist sponsored by the United Nations - which means she could be one of those CIA sponsored sellout. For any authoritarian regime's standard, there's pretty sufficient reason to ice her.
Whether you agree with this is one thing, but isn't that far from "most atrocious"?

Li Na famously split from the Chinese state's tennis system in 2008 and she refused to express any thanks for China when she won the Australian Open and she looked extremely uncomfortable when she was photographed with a Communist official, which was a form of political protest.

The lady got some balls I guess, but then she got her roots outside China, which means she doesn't need the government's support for jack shit.
As mentioned in my earlier post, that communist heck is very representative of what I described in the previous post as "second generation" official. Arrogant, crude with zero cultural empathy, typical of the stereotypical spoiled second generation communist class. He actually thinks throwing money at anything will give him any desired result.

Seeing this stuff makes my brain hurt, but unfortunately I think we need at least 1-2 more generations to produce a finer class of political elite. One can hope I guess.
One can hope I guess.