Hot on the Web

Invisible individual rights

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-07 08:29

Peng Gonglin, a farmer in Queshan county, Henan province, who bought fake rice seeds and suffered devastating losses, hanged himself at the seed station of the county after he unsuccessfully sought compensation for half a year. His suffering reflects the high costs of defending your rights. An article in the Chinese Business Morning View discussed the hardship for Chinese citizens in defending their rights. Excerpts:

Peng had tried to get indemnification through legal channels before he committed suicide. His efforts, however, all ended up in vain. In despair, he chose to sacrifice his life to attract the attention of the public. After his death, three officials in the seed station were immediately dismissed and investigated. Had the government dealt with the case earlier, however, Peng would have not needed to sacrifice his life to defend his rights.

Peng's case is not isolated. Last year, a migrant worker Zhang Haichao received thoracotomy operation to prove he suffered pneumoconiosis.

In China, citizens have to pay extremely high costs, even their lives, to defend their rights, while the costs for authorities to violate the law are rather low. The high costs have daunted many to defend their rights. According to a survey in last year, almost 70 percent of respondents chose to grin and bear it if their legal rights were infringed upon. It's an extremely disappointing figure indeed.

(China Daily 04/07/2010 page9)