China: Mass show of sympathy over Hubei man beaten to death

Thousands of ordinary Chinese citizens have gathered outside government offices in the central city of Tianmen, Hubei province, in a popular wave of anger and sympathy following the beating to death of a man last week by law enforcement officials.

Wei Wenhua, the manager of a water resources construction company connected to the municipal government water resources department, and a member of the ruling Communist Party, was beaten to death by a dozen urban management officials, or chengguan, on Jan. 7.

The officials were angry because he filmed them, using his mobile phone camera, clashing with local residents opposed to waste-dumping on a site near their homes.