A death and the disturbing facts behind it

Workers of State-owned Tong-hua Iron and Steel Group lynched Chen Guojun, an executive of the group sent by private steel company Jianlong, in Jilin province on Friday. The workers, many of whom hold shares in the State-owned enterprise (SOE), feared that the takeover by Jianlong could either cost them their jobs or force them to take a pay cut despite the company's profit of 42.7 million yuan ($6.2 million) in June.

According to reports, Chen's provocative remarks may have infuriated further an already angry group of workers. Police quoted Chen as telling the workers who had come to see him that up to 25,000 out of the 30,000 staff could be laid off.

Chen's death is a tragedy, not only because he was only in his 40s, but also because he had assumed his post as general manager just two days before the fateful day. Those who had violated the law in this incident should be held accountable.