SENTINEL WATCH December 28, 2009 Issue

A PUSH FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

RUTH WALKER

THE CHINESE PEOPLE are using the Internet to push for better accountability from government officials. In a recent article, The Washington Post recounted the case of Sun Zhongjie, a young man in Shanghai who got caught in a police sting operation. He was arrested after giving a lift to a man who had flagged him down on the street. Police accused him of operating an illegal taxi and confiscated his van, which belonged to his employer. Sun was fined $1,400 and fired from his job.

People have complained about such shakedowns in China for years. Most simply pay up. Sun, though, protested his innocence. Once online, his story "went viral." As news spread, the outcry prompted an official investigation. When that probe found no wrongdoing, Internet activists erupted. One online commenter wrote: "Why we pay attention to this case? Because there is a law enforcement agency which robs people brazenly and another investigating agency which labels itself fair but lies through its teeth."

Sun got a new investigation, at the end of which he won his case. "By just clicking a mouse, people now have the right to check up on the government," his lawyer told the Post. As the newspaper explained, "In the view of academic experts, lawyers, bloggers, and others here, the Internet is introducing a new measure of public accountability and civic action into China's closed and opaque political system."

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