There Was a Baby in that Stolen Car

Changchun, March 4, 2013, a silver Toyota RAV-4 was stolen around 7 o'clock while the driver left the car idling to a roadside convenience store. There was a two month old baby named Haobo Xu in that car.

One day later, the carjacker turned himself in after learning police had been looking for the car. According to the guy, his target was the car. He headed off to Shuangliao Highway after taking the car. When he saw there was a baby in the back seat on his way, he took a detour to a remote route where he killed little Haobo with his bare hands. He then hid the small body in the snow before resumed his trip to Gongzhuling. Police recovered the baby's body at the location told by the carjacker.

While we mourn for the baby's death, we are deeply troubled by the former senior army officer's thought that killing a two month old baby was a less crime than stealing a $30,000 car. How was this person made?

Zhou Xijun, born 1964, is in police custody. Zhou was a Major in the PLA army. Zhou was originally from Gongzhuling, but holds Changchun residence (hukou).

If mass killing of infants and babies by family planning officials went unpunished (on the contrary, they have been rewarded with salary, promotion and national honors), how should anyone be surprised?

This is a time, when every Chinese in mainland and abroad must reflect on the political hierarchy, national policies, judicial practice, and, our own culture. At the moment, The Seagull is ashamed of being a Chinese for the incomprehensible crime committed by another Chinese and also for living under such an inhumane system without putting up a fight.

A carjacking took place in Bronx of New York City last month under a similar circumstance, but ended with the safe return of the baby and the car as reported by the New York Post. A still at-large car thief sneaked in the car when the father stepped outside to talk to the mother. Having realized there was a baby on board, the perp called police from a roadside payphone before fled on foot into the darkness.

In a normal society, having a baby on board would be the worst nightmare for a carjacker, other than getting caught. That is the way it should have been.

Update: The Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department just issued a directive to all media outlets, which limited further reporting on this criminal case. The ordinance read:

......
• media should not question police's inaction;
• should not demand using the system monitoring political dissidents on missing children;
• should not display sorrow or sadness;
• should not interview the victim's family and authorities regarding this case;
......

We could only speculate the Party did not want distraction from the annual Congressional session in Beijing which would last two weeks from yesterday.

The Party did not kill little Haobo, but the message conveyed has been consistent. Was anyone surprised?

It is the system. It is 'the firm'. With the gag order on media coverage, the Communist Party pointed out who had manufactured beasts like Zhou Xijun. Do we choose to live under their ruling, or put up a fight? Do we still present asleep and not seeing a thing?

520 Dogs Rescued on Highway

A truck carrying more than 500 dogs from Henan to Jilin was forced to pull over by people suspecting the source of these dogs. Although police vowed for the legitimacy of these goods, hundreds of animal lovers responded to the call to block the truck from leaving. After more than 15 hours of confrontation and negotiation, two animal welfare groups paid $18,000 to the truck owner and the dogs were sent to animal shelter for proper care.

Dog meat is a favorite dish in Jilin, a northeastern province adjacent to Korea.

While animal lovers celebrate the victory for these poor dogs, many still carrying their tags, the bold action was criticized by many as an unlawful riot that place the dog's right ahead of men's. The issue of concern is that there is no dog farm in China. The only possible source of these dogs could only be 1) stray dogs and 2) pets stolen from their home. The former implies hygiene problems, and the latter is illegal to start with.

The event also draw attention from security agencies on the energy and efficiency of animal rights groups.

One Man's Death

The general manager of Tonghua Steel Company was beaten to death by angry workers after threatening to fire the entire workforce, 30,000 workers. Workers held on the plant until the provincial government announced Jianlong would not take over Tonghua Steel through television broadcasting.

Chen Guojun was appointed by the private Jianlong Group of Hebei Province. Jianlong's Chiar is son of General Liu Huaqing, deputy Chair of the CCP's central military committee. The CCP's Party boss is Wang Min, nephew of former president Jiang Zemin. With Wang's help, Liu was able to obtain Tonghua, a Top 500 (No. 244 overall in year 2008, No. 128 in manufacturing and No. 195 in taxation) enterprise of China with little investment. Liu rose to Top 10 richest Chinese in 2008 by obtaining state owned enterprises at little or zero cost.

None of the 9 people politico members visited Urumqi after the riot killed 197 innocent civilians, mostly ethic Chinese by Uyghurs. However, Premier Wen Jiabao immediately flew to Tonghua to examine the situation after Chen's death. A general manager with a powerful background weighs heavier than 197 civilians.