(Minghui.org) During my recent trip to a suburb of Beijing, a friend who works in the media industry told me the story of a county-level officer who took bribes of more than 200 million yuan.
During this officer's sentencing, higher officials thought this case would negatively affect the communist regime's reputation both domestically and internationally. Therefore, they removed two zeroes from the number, essentially reshaping the bribery amount to read 2 million yuan.
This story may sound surprising, but there are many cases similar to this. During the recent trial of Bo Xilai, former CCP secretary of Chongqing, Bo's bribery charge was initially listed at several billion yuan. During the primary sentencing phase, however, the number had already been reduced to five million yuan. That may be one reason why Bo not only denied the charge, but also said Wang Lijun, former Chongqing police chief, sought help from the US consulate because of his affair with Bo's wife. A serious criminal charge thus turned into courtroom drama.
I asked my friend if media control has become less restrictive, since many reports had surfaced surrounding Bo's case. He said that the change was only superficial and something done to mislead the public. The reality is that those news reports were still only allowed to use the state-run Xinhua Agency's version of the story. In addition, all police departments are now installing an advanced internet tracking device, which will be fully put to use early next year. By then, many of the micro-blogs and micro-messages that so many use these days will also be monitored. Anything inconsistent with the communist regime's expectations will thus lead to shutdowns of websites or other punishments.
Considering the recent arrest of several well-known micro-bloggers, it's still plain to see signs of tightening media control. This sends a signal to the public that media censoring and control, something the regime has always used in the past to sustain its rule and suppress different opinions, will in no way be reduced.
In other words, we cannot expect the regime to alter its direction. Disintegrating it, as witnessed in the millions of people who have announced their withdrawal from the Communist Party and its affiliated organizations, is an important step that will lead to a favorable future.
