County officials' claim should be investigated

One day after Xiang Jie, a rich man from Yuanling, Hunan province, alleged in an open letter on Sept 12 that local mayor Gong Lei had sought hundreds of millions of yuan from him as bribe, the local government denied the allegation and said Xiang is head of a local mafia gang. The local authorities even issued an order to arrest him. Comments:

Even though some information is missing in the letter, Xiang should not be deprived of his rights to question and petition for justice just because he is said to be a "bad" man. Whether or not Xiang is a gangster should not be the determinant factor in judging Gong Lei's "malpractice". Besides, why Xiang has been at large in a small place for so many years if he leads an organized gang?

Beijing Youth Daily, Sept 15