Respect voice of the Internet

Local officials should reshape their attitude toward the freedom of speech in cyberspace and stop tarnishing the image of local governments by disrespecting citizen's legal rights, says an article in the Beijing News. Following is an excerpt:

What a drama when police from Lingbao, Henan province, traveled thousands of miles to Shanghai to nab and jail Wang Shuai for eight days only because he posted an online article criticizing the local government for their illegal land requisition.

Wang's online article actually contained nothing slanderous. It was just a normal expression of a citizen's views on undue measures taken by a local government after other regular complaints failed. Obviously, the local government overeacted to Wang's legally legitimate behavior.