Irish Independent – by MALCOLM MOORE
A Chinese whistleblower, who spent his free time embarrassing Communist Party officials by posting pictures of their luxury cars on the internet, has been blinded with acid and had two of his fingers hacked off.
Li Jianxin (47) is in hospital after being attacked earlier this month, it has emerged. His car was rammed from behind and he was taken by three men to a remote industrial park in the southern city of Huizhou, where they doused him with acid and hacked at him with knives.
A woman in a dormitory nearby emerged to find Mr Li lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood and his six-year-old son wailing in his car.
Mr Li posted dozens of reports of corruption on a popular local internet forum.
His younger brother, Li Jianhuang, said several members of one prominent family in Huiyang, many of whom worked for the local government, had been particularly embarrassed by Mr Li.
He said he was not hopeful that the police would find the attackers. “The pressure from the local government is enormous because the influence of that family is huge,” he said.
Li Jianxin is in a stable condition in hospital in Huizhou.
Xi Jinping, China‘s president, has called for whistleblowers to help in the fight against the endemic corruption inside the Communist Party.
But his rhetoric has been accompanied by harsh treatment for those brave enough to take up his challenge. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
Irish Independent