Business owners in the Hunan New City area of Guangzhou City, China, have been in an ongoing conflict with the real estate company that manages that section of the city. The conflict involves issues of transportation, real estate management fees and public security.
Li Gang, one of the Guangzhou business owners, is an IT engineer in his thirties. He is an honest and kindhearted person. He sincerely cares about others and has a history of helping people. During the past two years he has represented the business owners in negotiations with developers and the real estate company many times. He has not backed down because of pressure applied by any agencies or government departments.
Li Gang Assaulted And Severely Injured
On February 15, 2005, around 7 p.m., Li Gang was at his home in Huanan New City when five thugs broke into his home. One of them punched him, knocking him to the floor. Then the five of them beat him nearly to death. Li Gang’s mother-in-law tried to stop the beating, but one of the thugs punched her, knocking her to the floor. Li Gang’s five-year-old son stood shivering in fear.
This attack is yet another example of collusion between Guangdong authorities and the sinister forces of the Chinese underworld.
After the thugs left, Li Gang called other business owners and his wife. They came immediately and took him to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhongshan in Guangdong Province. The examination showed that his spleen had been ruptured, causing heavy internal bleeding. Emergency surgery, lasting four hours, was conducted to remove his spleen.
A neighbor visiting Li Gang found him very pale and both his hands very cold. The neighbor called for one of the doctors at the hospital to check him immediately. The doctor immediately sent him into surgery at about 9:30 p.m. The doctor said a delay of 20 minutes would have killed him. Li Gang is currently in the intensive care unit and is not yet out of danger.
Li Gang’s wife, Ms. Xu Ming, is very upset. She said, “I’m very anxious. Now my biggest hope is that my husband can escape from danger. My husband is a warm-hearted person and helps others in need. He once said, ‘Since I have promised to do my best, I will persist to the end and will not flinch from any difficulties.’ Such a person is good for society, so why has he had such a fate? I’m really very puzzled. I hope the media can help render justice and enforce the law upon these criminals as soon as possible.”
Business Owners Express Support and Solicit Contributions
After hearing what happened, dozens of business owners arrived at the Third Hospital and waited outside the operating room that very night. Business owners from the cities of Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai cities and other areas also expressed grave concerns about this incident.
Some of Guangzhou’s big businesses, including Zhonghai Health City, Junjing Garden, Qianxi Garden, Yajule, Luotao Villa, Zhujiang Junyuan, Guangdi Garden, Nanguo Aoyuan and others, have organized activities to support Li Gang and solicit contributions for him and his family to help defray medical expenses and provide money for living.
The business operators said, “Li Gang shed his blood for business owners’ benefits! Li Gang lost his spleen for business owners’ benefits! We will try our best to help Li Gang and his family members. We will get the best treatment and care for brother Li. We cannot let he and his family bear the soaring medical expenses!”
Local Media Were Instructed to Cover Up the Incident
It was reported that the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party has ordered all mass media in Guangdong Province not to carry any news about this incident. Business owners distributed the details of the incident to the Xinhua.net and other news media sources. Not only was the news not reported by any of them, but all of the related threads on various Internet forums were immediately deleted.
According to the business owners, reporters from nearly a dozen news agencies came to the hospital to cover the incident. Many reporters said, on the spot, that the news would definitely be reported. Some of them were so sad and angry that they burst into tears. However, they kept silent after receiving notices from higher authorities.
A television station reporter promised to report the news and the TV station’s controller approved the story. However, it was forcibly cancelled just five minutes prior to broadcast.
After receiving notification that the news would not be carried, a very strong tall male reporter wept when he told the business owners. He said that he now hates his profession. He went over to Li Gang’s wife and apologized three times, and made three deep bows to her.
Hooligans Colluded With Insiders
Some of the business owners said they spotted five husky fellows in yellow outfits rushing downstairs from Li Gang’s home and passing the on-duty security guards right after the assault took place. Nonetheless, all the security guards on duty that night claimed they never saw any suspicious people.The surveillance video camera that normally faces the entrance had been turned around to face a pillar. Therefore the camera did not capture the assailants’ images. The police who rushed to the scene, reported that there were no fingerprints on the camera.
The police then asked a security guard on duty that day, and a business owner witness, to give testimony at the local police station. As the security guard was about to leave for the police station, a coworker told him, “When you are there, do not say what should not be said.”
The head of the community’s security department said that when the assault was taking place, the security guards did not see anything wrong, and that each building has a security door so it would be impossible for an outsider to get in without the password.
Based on the facts that the video surveillance system within elevator cabs didn’t capture anything special that day and that one video camera was turned to face a pillar, this was obviously a premeditated, organized and professional assault. The assault could not have been carried out successfully without inside help.
Backgound to the Assault
On the evening of February 6, 2006, business owners from Huanan New City were unexpectedly informed that one of the main bus routes servicing the community had been cancelled. Cancellation of this bus route will have a tremendous impact on about a thousand business owners’ livelihoods. The infuriated businessmen initiated a march in protest of this action, but they were assaulted by hired thugs.. Two business owners were left with broken, bleeding heads.
On February 12, 2006, a demonstration was staged by hundreds of community business owners seeking justice for the two assaulted business owners, and to petition for continued bus service to the community. Li Gang rushed to the scene and tried, with two members of the preparatory committee for business owners, to keep the incident from getting out of hand. They intended to negotiate with the general manager of Kangjing Property Management Limited on behalf of other business owners.
On February 15, 2006, the same day when Li Gang was assaulted, one preparatory committee member who had participated in the negotiations received a threatening phone call. The caller said, “If you take the lead in making trouble again, there will be 20 people to send funeral wreaths to your home.”
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