By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

LANZHOU, China – Reports say that roughly 100 decomposing human bodies are fished out of the Yellow River every year in and around the city of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province.

A report from a Shanghai newspaper reported that the figure of 100 is actually low, and the most recent statistics place the number of decomposing human remains retrieved from the river closer to 200 or 300 per year.

The report from the Shanghai newspaper is bolstered by “body fishers,” like Wei Jinpeng, who collect the floating corpses along the river so they can display the bodies and sell them back to the families of the deceased.  Wei Jinpeng says the estimate of 100 per year is likely incredibly low given that he alone fishes out roughly 80 to 100 bodies per year.

Body fishing is also an incredibly lucrative trade for those who engage in the business, like Wei Jinpeng, in the city of Lanzhou.  The city’s government has dragged their feet in cracking down on the gruesome trade since issuing a promise to the public to fix the problem back in 2006.

Law enforcement and city officials remain uninterested in the body fishing epidemic despite reports stating that around 5% of the bodies fished out of the Yellow River are results of criminal activity and murder.  Many of the bodies fished out of the river are murdered, female migrant workers.

The dumping of human remains into Chinese rivers has been an ongoing problem for decades, but has recently resurfaced as a controversial issue in international media due to the investigations surrounding the dumping of tens of thousands of pig carcasses in the Huangpu River in Shanghai and dead ducks being dumped into the Nan River in Sichuan province.

The controversy stems from the possibility that the human remains, as well as the animal remains that riddle the Chinese rivers, may be contaminating and polluting the water supply provided by the rivers.  A 2005 Daxia Hydropower Company report suggested that the human remains in the water supply make the water hazardous to drink.

If the bodies are left untreated and decomposing in the rivers, the environmental impact and pollution is much more severe than the regular dumping of household waste into the rivers.   Additionally, in a 2012 investigation, river water is believed to regularly mix with well water which is consumed by humans, but the river water contaminated with human remains makes the water unsafe to drink.

For further information, please see:

The Times of India – Pigs, ducks and now bodies in China river – 2 April 2013

Foreign Policy – Is This a Pandemic Being Born? – 1 April 2013

Forbes – Now In China’s Rivers: Decomposing Humans – 31 March 2013

South China Morning Post – Officials in Lanzhou say bodies floating in river not affecting water quality – 29 March 2013

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Liu Hui, brother-in-law of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, has been taken into custody and will soon be put on trial because of accusations of fraud.

Mo Shaoping, Liu Hui’s lawyer, said that his client Mr. Liu has been detained over a property dispute; however, the evidence the state has against him is insufficient for an actual conviction.  The case against Liu Hui is based on an accusation that he and an old colleague stole from the company they worked for.

The Associated Press reported that Liu and his accomplice allegedly took three million RMB (roughly $483,000) from their workplace.  Liu Xia, the wife of the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner and sister of Liu Hui, believes that her brother’s detainment is an intimidation tactic to force her to comply with her house arrest.

Liu Xia was sentenced to a lengthy house arrest term alongside her husband who was sentenced to an 11 year prison term.  The couple was convicted based on charges of subversion against the central government in late 2009 when Liu Xiaobo attempted to bring down the one party system in favor of democratic reforms in China.

Hu Jia, a prominent human rights activist in the Beijing area who visited with Liu Xia during her house arrest, perceives Liu Xia’s conditions as weakening.  Liu Hui said during her meeting that she would “go mad soon” after the events surrounding her brother’s detainment.

Mo Shaoping, whose firm defended Liu Xiaobo during his legal proceedings against the state when he was brought up on subversion charges, told local news agencies that Liu Hui had been under surveillance by authorities for several months.  It is uncertain whether the current charges are in any way connected with the subversion activities of Liu Xiaobo.

Mr. Mo further said that the evidence against Liu Hui is insufficient for a criminal proceeding and the current dispute should be settled in civil courts.  Liu Hui has also publicly denied any wrongdoing on his part.  Mr. Liu could face as much as 10 years in prison if found guilty for this property dispute.

China’s judicial branches are firmly in the grips of the Communist party and will usually find defendants, like Liu Hui, guilty for the crimes they have been charged with.  Mr. Liu will stand trial in Huairou, a northern district in the capital city of Beijing.

There has been no notification of a set trial date yet; however, Liu’s lawyers expect a firm date within the month.

For further information, please see:

Democracy Digest – China jails Nobel laureate’s relative – 1 April 2013

BBC – Jailed China Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo’s relative held – 29 March 2013

The New York Times – Relative of Jailed Chinese Laureate Faces Fraud Charges – 29 March 2013

Radio Free Asia – Chinese Laureate’s Relative Held on ‘Fraud’ – 29 March 2013