User:Crtew/Dong Rubin

Dong Rubin, also known by his Internet alias as Bianmin or Bian Min, (born 1962 – ) a freelance Chinese microblogger and owner Yunnan Bianmin Cultural Communications Company in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, is well-known as a result of his investigation of a 2009 case of police brutality, which gained notoriety through his internet blog, and his 6-and-a-half-year imprisonment in 2014 that is part of 2013 crackdown and Internet censorship in China.

= Personal = Dong Rubin, born in 1962, is a 56 year-old microblogger from the Yunnan Province of China. Rubin is an political activist involved in human rights and the environment. He is also known as "Bianmin," which translates as "a person who lives on the frontier."

= Career = Dong Rubin was initially a secondary school teacher. According to China Daily, Rubin was dismissed from teaching for smuggling and gambling activities and thereafter he worked in journalism and for a web site. However, in 2013, he speculated after a raid of his office that he might be charged with spurious crimes like these in response to his activism. After making a name for himself in 2007 for posting about controversial topics, Dong Rubin was called one of the best known Netizens. He then formed an Internet consulting company, Yunnan Bianmin Cultural Communications Company, and maintained a microblog under the Internet alias "Bianmin", which developed a large following of over 50,000 people. The reach of his blog was throughout China and also among ethnic Chinese in Myanmar.

Notable works of journalism
The issues most popularly associated with Dong Rubin are the 2009 case of police brutality and the 2011 Mekong River Massacre, but he has posted about other issues such as environmental pollution and children's rights.

The 2009 police brutality case involved Chinese inmate Li Qidoming (or Qiaoming), who, in what is called the "208 Case," was killed in the Yunnan hide-and-seek incident, was a prisoner who died from severe brain injury under the supervision of authorities within a Yunnan prison. Police stated his death was the result of a prison game gone awry. Rubin posted messages and articles insinuating that the cause of death was a result of police brutality.

Another instance of Dong Rubin's notoriety was for his posting and commenting information in regards to an the Mekong River massacre, where 13 sailors were attacked and murdered on October 28th of 2011.

During the building of a petrochemical plant near Kunming, China, in 2013, Rubin published critical opinions about the government plans and safety and environmental policies. At the time, he supported the protests against the Kunming Mayor Li Wenrong.

Arrest and trial
Arrested July 23, 2014, Rubin had numerous charges filed against him. He was writing about a government-planned oil refinery around the time the charges were pressed against him. The initial charge was about the registration of his business. Others in his company were also scrutinized and general manager Hou Peng was also charged. Amnesty International claims that Rubin was the subject of intense interrogation for an extensive period of time, seven-to-eight hours a day for two-and-a-half months while chained to ta chair. The authorities later added the charge of "fabricating and spreading online rumours for economic gain" to charges about his business. In September, China detained American-Chinese venture capitalist Charles Xue Biqun, who was also an Internet commentator and a significantly higher number of audience members than Rubin. Rubin was later sentenced to prison for six and a half years and fined USD $57,000 by the Wuhua District court. He is currently being held at the Wuhua correctional facility in Kunming, located in the Yunnan province of China. His colleague Hou Peng received a 3-year sentence.

Impact
President Xi Jinping has initiated various crackdowns, such as the 2011 crackdown on dissidents in China, during his time in office, and Chinese laws have become stricter in order prevent unfiltered criticism. Around the time of Rubin's arrest, it was known that hundreds of other were arrested in a crackdown on Internet expression.

Dong Rubin's lawyer Wang Pu, said, "It is quite normal for an ordinary citizen to issue challenges on these (controversial) topics, and (Dong Rubin) had only exercised his legal right to express his opinion... Of course, his enquiries embarrassed and irritated the authorities." The lawyer was concerned that laws were being applied retroactively.

Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for Committee to Protect Journalists, said, "President Xi Jinping's government continues to go to great lengths to stamp out political criticism that has not passed through official censors. Dong Rubin is one of several victims of the tactic of wielding charges of business or personal misconduct to denigrate critical voices in China."

On the legal issue of registration, a Shanghai-based lawyer Wu Dong, asserted, "It is common for private enterprises to exaggerate their registered capital to imply that they are powerful and credible … Owners of such companies can be charged with a crime only if they cause financial damages of more than 100,000 yuan to others or carry on illicit activities."

Reactions
Benjamin Ismaïl, Reporters Without Borders head of the Asia Desk, said, "This conviction, following an unjust trial, shows officials’ determination to muzzle all critical voices. The action also shows authorities’ sense of weakness in the face of a growing numbers of netizens and whistleblowers. Party officials, and the political and government elite in general, feel themselves under constant threat from bloggers’ asserting freedom of speech and the right to criticize... When will officials understand that for each netizen who is convicted, 100 others take up the battle against censorship and for freedom of information?"

Speaking about the overall crackdown, Zhang Lifan, a historian, said, "The use of these dictatorship tools to combat the criticism and grievances within civil society could be counterproductive. It may not be beneficial for maintaining the regime."

Wu Gan, a political cartoonist who had been detained for reblogging an article that criticized the government on the mistreatment of the people of China, stated that the way the Chinese government suppresses its people is pointless an there is a lack of freedom to communicate. He states that detaining those who voice an opinion will not fix any problems, only cause more for the Chinese government because they are the true problem and the reason why people form negative opinions initially.