the fate of a bird flu dissident in China

Here's discouraging news -- it doesn't pay to be a dissident in China, even when you're supporting the policies of the central government!

Say what?

Qiao Songju, a goose farmer in the eastern province of Jiangsu, was just sentenced to three and a half years in jail for alleged fraud and blackmail.

He's a "dissident" in his own area, because in October 2005 he reported bird flu cases to the Ministry of Agriculture in Beijing.

As he's supposed to do.

The official policy of the central government of China is that it's fully supporting the efforts of the world community to control bird flu. And therefore it wants all farmers in China to report suspected cases of bird flu in chickens and people.

However, since he reported the local outbreak, farmers in his area have lost money because the price of poultry and eggs have gone down.

So they're blaming him. He was arrested on these charged a month later.

So it appears that the central government has limited authority and willingness to buck local authorities.

Of course, we'd consider this good if the central government was wrong.

But in this case, the local authorities are in the wrong. The central government's official policy is correct. And farmers who don't report bird flu outbreaks can be punished.

I wonder if that's ever happened. Of course, if a bird flu outbreak happens and the central Ministry of Agriculture never learned about it, it can't punish farmers for not reporting the outbreak.

bird flu dissidence in China



Bird Flu in China
Bird Flu in China