Wednesday, August 14, 2013

China's Weibos, News Sites Censor Report on Group Suicide Attempt in Beijing

On August 14, 2013, the English web site of the state-sponsored China Radio International published an article entitled "Group Suicidal Attempt Fails in Beijing." Some excerpts:
More than ten people failed in their attempt to commit suicide together by drinking pesticide in Beijing on Tuesday, thanks to the arrival of police and medical personnel.
The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. in a busy street near Beijing West Railway Station.
. . . .
Reporters from Beijing Youth also found that several patients were wearing T-shirts bearing the Harbin Railway Bureau logo.
On August 14, CRI's Chinese language web site also published an article on the matter entitled "A Mass Suicide Takes Place in Beijing, Over Ten People Drink Pesticide and Collapse on the Sidewalk" (北京发生一起群体自杀事件 十余人喝农药倒路边) here - http://gb.cri.cn/42071/2013/08/14/5892s4217309.htm. But as these screenshots show, that article was deleted within hours.

The original Chinese language report appeared on the state-sponsored Beijing Youth web site here - http://bjyouth.ynet.com/3.1/1308/14/8203182.html on the morning of August 14. As these screenshots show, it was also deleted the same day.
The story was also deleted from other web sites where it was reposted:



These screenshots, taken on August 14, show that Sina Weibo was censoring "Suicide Pesticide," but not "Suicide" or "Pesticide."

These screenshots, taken on August 14, show that Sina Weibo was censoring "A Mass Suicide Takes Place in Beijing," but not "A Mass Takes Place in Beijing" or "A Mass Suicide Takes Place."
The story can still be found at the following links:


Caijing also has photos from the hospital available here - http://photos.caijing.com.cn/2013-08-14/113169114.html

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