Reporter: catch signal a constitutional and civil rights crisis

        -- Talking from the Xifeng events

              WeekZe

In 2008, Chinese press is not a calm year, national affairs, the press also big. This is destined to be a news history focuses on the year.

In January 1, 2008, the "legal" magazine published a reporter Zhu Wenna "Liaoning Xifeng: a business contest" article. Reported Liaoning Xifeng businesswoman Zhao Junping, because of dissatisfaction with the Xifeng County on the gas station compensation processing units, texting satire of Zhang Zhiguo of secretary of county Party committee, was found guilty of libel. Reports out, Xifeng County, think this is a serious false, malicious slander nature article. In January 4th, the Standing Committee of the county committee, propaganda minister and Secretary of county Party committee came to Beijing, "legal persons" magazine for clarify the truth, eliminate the bad effects, and reserve the right to pursue legal responsibilities. On the afternoon of the same day, Xifeng County Public Security Bureau police officers came to the "legal" magazine, said Zhu Wenna suspected of "libel" have been placed on file, and immediately produced on Zhu Wenna's "filed notice" and "summon card". Because Zhu Wenna was not in the unit, Xifeng police failed to do so. The police to "alleged libel" to write or report reporter Zhu Wenna investigation and go to the capital to summon event after exposure, the community reacted strongly. In January 8th the sound of a doubt, revoke, cancel, Xifeng police arrest, and when Zhu Wenna apologized.

The police arrested journalists event, not the general illegal events, but a serious constitutional and civil rights crisis!

China's constitution stipulates, "the personal dignity of citizens of the people's Republic of China are not violated", "no insult, the citizens by any slander and false accusation". (thirty-eighth) the constitution of our country at the same time, the citizens of the people's Republic of China "to any state organ or functionary, have the right to criticize and make suggestions; for any state organ or functionary of illegal acts, complaints, charges or complaints rights to the relevant state organs, but shall not fabricate or distort the facts of false accusation", "the citizen complaints, charges or report, the relevant state organs must ascertain the facts, responsible for handling. Any person may suppress and take revenge." (forty-first)

The personal dignity of citizens of the infringement behavior, the criminal law of our country stipulates the crime of insult, libel, false accusation counts three to wait, also provides the insult, libel civil liability for tort others in the civil code. State personnel are citizens, but when it encounters other citizens, appeal, complaint, accusation criticism, is no longer the "citizens" and "citizens", but the "national staff", first of all need to accept the evaluation of citizenship is criticism, accusing, complaints, complaints problems whether this is true, whether they need to citizens, Sue, complaint, criticism or responsible for the problem, then the problem of the protection of the dignity of. Appeal, accuse, report on whether citizens "fabricated or distorted the facts by false accusation," of course can only according to the constitution about "for citizen complaints, charges or report, the relevant state organs must ascertain the facts, and be responsible for processing" "must ascertain the facts, responsible for handling" "citizen complaints, charges or report" the "relevant departments" to "fact" to judge. That is to say, citizens in the staff of the national criticism, complaints, charges or report disputes, the relevant departments of civil criticism, complaints, charges or report the problem of "treatment", is the pre procedure to solve the problem of state personnel protection of human dignity of the. This is the meaning of the constitution of our country forty-first place.

Unfortunately, for a long time, the relevant departments in law enforcement and judicial activities, provisions of the constitution of the lack of correct understanding, not aware of, "the relevant departments" citizens of the state and national staff complaints, complaint, accusation, is superior in "the special civil state functionaries" the protection of human dignity, so that the police arrested journalists like Xifeng event such have the order reversed, confound right and wrong phenomenon -- reflect problems of the masses, report on the problem of reporters were in crime case investigation, or press the masses reported problems but no one asked! Pengshui, Jishan -- poetry case copy and so on modern "Literary Inquisition", without exception.

Xifeng events and all kinds of writing, poetry case, virtually all of the reporters and poetry, the retaliation problem, reflect on the exercise of state organs and people with criticism, complaints, charges, prosecution rights of the masses, to be unconstitutional forty-first about "the citizen complaints, charges or report" "modern law spirit, states that any person may suppress or take revenge" and the protection of the rights of limited power.

Staff of state organs and filed a defamation lawsuit for the media and journalists, once suspected of staff of state organs and resist the news supervision of public opinion, under public criticism. For the solution of the supervision by public opinion of Wai, some scholars even propose state organs should not have the right of reputation, and academic circles also puts forward to draw lessons from the western theory of "public figure" claims, or national staff that "public figures" filed a defamation lawsuit, need to prove that the media reports of "actual malice". "Public figures" theory, in the lawsuit, the media in the face of national staff of such a "public figure", forever remain invincible, because of the need to prove that media reports of "actual malice" almost impossible.

The defamation lawsuit, as the civil action, whether that state organs and the right of reputation damage and working personnel of the state prosecution and prosecution media or journalists, reporters reported for duty behavior, if considered copyright infringement, liability by the media to take. "Organization" rely on the media, in the face of reputation infringement litigation, reporters may not be confound at, in order to expose the reports, will have more confidence. Of course, also some "organization" let the reporters feel unreliable. According to this understanding, media internal regulations, if the media for defamation lawsuit against was sentenced to compensation, by reporter shall bear the responsibility for compensation. In this situation, do expose the reports, make public opinion supervision reporter, will no doubt to be very careful. So, income of the meager reporter for the sake of safety, presumably to expose the reports do less is better. So, we see more in many media, or all the joys of spring flatter, things, or review, inappropriate things, or the staff of state organs and the daily life, or as "Sanlu poisonous milk powder," reported to even the "Sanlu" name can't point out, the so-called critical expose. In such information, the public to understand the social ecological real, to understand the environment in which they live, is really not easy!

Filed a defamation lawsuit both for journalists and media, the surface is the "organization" with the media against. "Organization" has always been the strength than the individual. Of course, should find weak against enemy. "Libel" for journalists, news supervision of public opinion on the need to offset the effects of state organs and state-owned staff, is to get rid of the fine way and media confrontation. After all, libel is purely personal crime, state organs and functionaries as "victim" to investigate reporter, not only can achieve the "complaint" media reports were "false", to offset the supervision effect, can effectively prevent the media (it doesn't matter, and their media will not necessarily from the protection of journalists to participate in the fight against the angle reporter) and rebound.

However, for libel for reporters, the supervision of public opinion of the state organs and their functionaries, but also great risks. If the prosecution, go is associated with the reputation infringement civil procedure the same path, will meet with the defamation lawsuit repressor of supervision of public opinion the same difficulties. But if like Xifeng County Party Secretary Zhang Zhiguo, the police, go "Prosecution" program, to abuse the public power to retaliatory law enforcement trace is too obvious to be, inevitably questioned. In the freedom of the press has already become a kind of social value, slander to crime has become an international trend today, for libel for reporters troubled in jurisprudence.

In civil litigation, the right to reputation libel criminal proceedings against public opinion supervision failure situations, in order to "bribery" suspects caught reporters, also use "bribery" held to reporters reflect the people of the problem, it is expected to become a state and national staff to resist a large "invention of supervision of public opinion"!

Recently, the Southern Weekend "this year 'catch the reporters' frequent, there' case '" in the title, with a full page, review except the recent CCTV female reporter is suspected of bribery case four "catch the reporter" case. Among them, in addition to Xifeng events are in the alleged libel case to reporters outside, other not to press charges, but the "bribery" Xifeng Xifeng event, prosecutors also once the reporter Zhao Junping family grasp to go to ask "how much money to the reporter sent", almost the whole remember "bribery" case.

Unfortunately, a series of "catch the reporter" case behind the "case", but were not relevant departments investigate and deal with the.

The reporter receiving benefits reported phenomenon, exists in the loss of today, we are opposed to the reporter the benefits do report.

But it is noteworthy, the relevant departments in on suspicion of bribery, bribery crime reporter, catch catch reflect problems of the masses, according to what is starting the criminal prosecution procedure? Common sense tells us, even in the presence of property transfer, the benefits of reporters not to surrender, to benefit the people not to report, do relevant departments in the starting procedure of criminal prosecution, just from their own doubts? In grasping, grasping the reporter reflect masses before, the relevant departments with what doubt they "bribery", "bribery"? If there are "people report", and that "the masses" report is based on what? If the criticism from the masses, complaints, charges, report and journalists to expose problems of relevant departments directly or indirectly holding the "bribery", "bribery" prosecution procedure starting with power, the vulgar social psychology, think the journalists to the masses of problems, there is bribery "suspected" between the two sides, you can start to journalists and to reflect the problems of the masses "bribery", "bribery" prosecution procedure, catch reflects the problems of the masses, catch interview reports that questions, it would be terrible! After all, every one of us may encounter unfair and unjust, may to the press, reflect to the reporter, the reporter often with conscience and moral sense of yourself, we interviewed reported problems reflected! Is not it, every day how many national media expose problems reported by the masses, aren't we believe these problems is a reporter with conscience and moral sense of yourself to cover exposed?!

Whether there is relationship between property it regardless of reporters and reporting object, facing the coverage of the masses reporter one go in, to reflect the problems of the masses a go in, and the question of the masses had failed to solve, we have reason to ask: these catch reporter event Is it right? "Retaliatory law enforcement"? Is it right? Against public opinion? We the people have appeal, complaint, accusation rights, whether journalists can also expose the social ecological real?

The bribery crime "suspected" catch problems reflect the masses, catch reporting disclosure of journalists, as some staff of state organs and resist the supervision by public opinion, resist the people means to their criticism, accused, complaints, complaints, is really high, very high, very high! On the one hand, cut down the media supervision of public opinion, safeguard social and public interests, safeguarding the rights of citizens moral standard, the disadvantage of journalists and reflect the problems of the masses in the moral, so they cannot obtain the sympathy and support of the public, which act in collusion with, to want to punish them. On the other hand, still can be in "hush money" this media scandal stigma effect on the media, the people hate the "corruption", will be "bribery", "bribery" accused of masses and the journalist as a rake, the siege of the mob, thus the media at a "not qualified supervision who" situation, the realization of "weiweijiuzhao" purposes, to "my site I decide" "I corrupt mind your own" anti supervision to the end! Good people, vigilance!

Grasping the reporter event and many poem case, copy again, tell us: the implementation of the constitution crisis! The implementation of the constitution, constraint of state organs and personnel power, protection of civil rights, brook no delay!

It is understood, the event has been taken as an important case training cadres. I think, this should not be let officials to learn how to deal with the media, to deal with the public, so as to get rid of the public crisis, not like the Xifeng County Secretary Zhang Zhiguo as power growing people asked to step down, but should let them learn how to deal with the criticism, complaints, charges, prosecution, learning how to respect the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to public opinion supervision!

If the case Xifeng events like this, just let the officials learned to use "bribery", "bribery" regulation reflects the problems of the masses and interview reports that questions than the "frame" and "defamation" regulation "that" crime they such a "truth", let us all hell go!