China's Response To the Internet Addiction Death 250
eldavojohn writes "Last week, news broke of a tragic incident that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old boy at one of China's internet addiction camps. Details were scarce except for reports that the camp remained open. New reports are now coming in from China Daily that report 13 arrested and the camp closed down on Friday with 122 participants being sent home. The vice-chief of the district has stated that the authorities are working on the case to identify and punish the criminals involved in the death. Xinhua is reporting that the camp was unlicensed. This is directly in conflict with what the Southern Metropolis Daily reporter is saying, 'When the reporter arrived outside the rear wall of the school, children on the third and fourth floors started to stick notes into aluminum cans, drink bottles, and slippers, and others folded notes into paper planes. They tried to throw them over the wall, but owing to the distance, none of them succeeded. Some children had papers bearing the messages "SOS" and "beating" which they waved out the windows. Some wrote calls for help on their clothing, which they displayed to the reporter. Some even yelled for help. They were all stopped by the instructors.' Here is that original story in Chinese. Is China handling this delicate issue appropriately or are the news reports of justice and monitoring treatments merely a facade?"
Wait and see (Score:5, Informative)
There was a similar case at a Florida boot camp a few years back. A kid was beaten to death, and it was all caught on tape. The murderers were acquitted [go.com], but Florida did shut down its boot camps. We'll probably see similar results from this incident in China.
Re:Wait and see (Score:3, Informative)
The murderers were acquitted [go.com], but Florida did shut down its boot camps.
Small nitpick but they aren't 'murderers' when they were found innocent by a jury of their peers.
We'll probably see similar results from this incident in China.
Because they care so much about public outrage and human rights?
There is NO conflict (Score:5, Informative)
Re:lrn2ask non self answering questions (Score:5, Informative)
Considering that the "editorial" staff here missed the fact that the Southern Metropolis Daily article covered a DIFFERENT camp with the same problems and claimed that there was conflicting stories...Heh...
Re:Wait and see (Score:5, Informative)
The murderers were acquitted [go.com], but Florida did shut down its boot camps.
Small nitpick but they aren't 'murderers' when they were found innocent by a jury of their peers.
Small nitpick, but aquittal != innocent.
Aquittal simply means there was not enough evidence to find them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Re:Wait and see (Score:3, Informative)
Well, with a little googling you will find that according to 12 of Chinese criminal procedure law no one is guilty of a crime without a people's court rendering a judgment according to law.
It is a presumption of innocence.
Re:Wait and see (Score:4, Informative)
Since in America you are innocent until proven guilty, and they were not proven guilty...
*presumed* innocent until proven guilty. presumptions != truth.
Re:Informative? Insightful? Hyperbole... (Score:2, Informative)
See, I've never understood this viewpoint. "Well sure, he was being beaten and kicked, but it wasn't the beating and kicking that did it, it was the underlying medical condition, and the forced exercise that he was beaten and kicked to make him do, and there's no way that a violent take-down by a 200-pound guard, landing on him with his full weight could have contributed..."
Sure, he had a medical condition, and sure, their other brutal physically abusive tactics (forced exercise) and contempt for anyone showing weakness, had a lot to do with it. Oh, yeah and blocking his mouth while forcing smelling salts into his nose, thereby cutting off most of his oxygen was a real winning move. But it's all ok because the kicking and beating they did weren't enough, by themselves, to kill him. So let them off scot free by all means.
I mean, good grief, does no-one seem to get it yet? When someone has had enough exercise out in the hot sun, they've had enough. Sure, sometimes they're malingering, and sometimes, they know they've reached their absolute physical limits and will die if they go on. And it's bad enough when someone drops dead at their little league game because the coach is a moron but the players want to please him anyway even though they could theoretically just walk off the field. When it's a prison camp for children and they face violence for stopping, there's just no excuse. It's just ridiculous those guards weren't convicted.