Three suspects have been detained over the lynching of a
journalist who reportedly investigated an unlicensed coal mine in
Datong of Shanxi Province, according to the Beijing
News.
All three were miners, said a local police officer who refused
to be named, adding that an 80-member special task force is
involved in an intensive manhunt of those still at large, including
the mine owner.
"Local police will break the case and reveal the truth within
two or three days," said Gu Shengming, a spokesman for the city
government of Datong.
The victim, Lan Chengzhang, who had recently been hired as a
reporter for the Shanxi station of China Trade News, died
from a cerebral hemorrhage on January 10, a day after he and two
colleagues were assaulted by more than 20 people.
China Trade News editor-in-chief, surnamed Wang, said Lan
was a temporary reporter and the paper would be unwavering in
seeking justice for him.
"There are fake reporters coming to extort coal mines,
threatening them with negative stories," an anonymous local press
officer told the Beijing News, indicating that Lan could
have been one of them.
But according to Li, one of Lan's relatives, his visit to the
coal mine was cleared by China Trade News.
Gu, who declined to comment on Lan's status as a reporter, told
Chinese news portal sohu.com: "It is an illegal mine, and was
closed a long time ago by the villagers. The case will be looked
into as a criminal case by the police and the truth will finally
come out."
Lan's family members said China Trade News had not sent
any condolences over his death.
Miners and reporters both featured on a list of China's most
dangerous professions in 2006, ranking first and third
respectively, according to Xinhua News Agency.
(China Daily January 20, 2007)