More impunity in China

Lan Chengzhang was a trainee journalist for the China Trade News. Recently he was assigned the story of reporting on safety at the Hunyuan coal mine in Shanxi province. The mine owner objected to this, and Lan was brutally beaten by a group of hired thugs in the mine owner's office. He died the next day is hospotal. His two companions had their legs broken.

You would think that the murder of a journalist at the behest of a corrupt official would gain some coverage, even in China. But according to Shanghai Daily, local media have ignored the story. Instead, Lan's credentials have been questioned, and he has been labelled a "false journalist" who was engaged in extortion. And so corrupt officials who behave like gangsters protect their positions - and get away with murder.