Speaking out for justice invites government suppression! — The ultimate revelation of the "Sea Palace" case (Serial 27)
Part III: Lawyers' Rights Defense and Brave Challenge to Legal Affairs Office
2. Speaking out for justice has led to government suppression
Since the public controversy over the 'Floating Palace' erupted, lawyer Wang Tengfeng has been very concerned about the progress of the incident. Later, seeing the media and public opinion unleashing an irrational bombardment and relentless pursuit of the 'Floating Palace,' and seeing government departments lacking any principles and sense of responsibility, instead hesitating and acting irrationally under the heavy pressure and manipulation of public opinion, committing a series of illegal administrative acts, particularly seeing many so-called legal scholars and top lawyers pandering to power and vulgar trends, publishing some 'expert comments' on various media that were lacking independent legal spirit, off the point, or seemingly plausible but false, lawyer Wang Tengfeng could no longer contain himself and felt compelled to speak out. In a telephone interview with Guo Biao, a reporter from the Southern Daily, he clearly pointed out the problems of illegal administrative actions by government departments. The next day, April 12, 2011, the Southern Daily, in the 'AII04 Shenzhen Observation · Livelihood' section, published on the front page the article 'Legal Advisor to Shenzhen Municipal Government: The 'Floating Palace' Case Might Be Winnable' (see Figure 100), which quoted his views in detail. Such a clear stance, going against the trend of the media and public opinion, speaking frankly without leaving any face for government departments, combined with the eye-catching 'clickbait' style of the Southern Daily, caused the report to be widely reposted on online media as soon as it was published, causing a huge sensation.
Figure 100: Photo of the headline of the "AII04 Shenzhen Observation • Minsheng" page of Nanfang Daily on April 12, 2011.
Although if the introduction and the main topic of this report are read and understood together, it objectively leads people to conclude that ";" Even the government's own legal counsel believes that the government department may lose the lawsuit. The conclusion. However, the layout of the Southern Daily did not highlight Lawyer Wang Tengfeng. Legal Advisor to the Shenzhen Municipal Government Instead of being an identity, it is used as a small-sized introduction to the main topic, which is clearly distinct from the large-sized main topic. However, this report was involved in a hot topic at that time and contained ";" "Citizens suing officials" The dramatic content was immediately reprinted by a large number of online media as soon as it was published. And the Internet is precisely where clickbait headlines run rampant. The introduction and main topic of this report are just ";" "Naturally" The ground covers, intentionally or unintentionally, are placed side by side to form a single title that can attract attention and create a sensational effect (Figures 101 and 102).
Figure 101: This is a screenshot of the web page of Xinhua Net on the morning of April 12, 2011, reprinting the report from Southern Daily. You can see the effect of the title after reprinting.
Figure 102: This is a screenshot of the webpage page reprinted by the "Nanfang Daily" on the afternoon of April 12, 2011. You can see the title effect after reprinting.
Unfortunately, one of the reports later proved to be ";" "Fatal" A mistake. Due to the negligence of journalist Guo Biao, the title held by Lawyer Wang Tengfeng, which could demonstrate his high status and influence, was not verified clearly. Instead, the title "" was wrongly used. Legal Advisor to the Shenzhen Municipal Government The title was used to enhance the authority of the viewpoints cited in its reports, and then through online re-posting and amplification, it gave rise to ";" The Shenzhen Municipal Government slapped itself in the face. The sensational effect. It is only natural that the Shenzhen municipal government departments, which have already been disheveled, flustered, on edge and at a loss by the media and public opinion, have overreacted to the mistakes in this report.
On the morning of April 12, 2011, Lawyer Wang Tengfeng saw a report in the Southern Daily and found something amiss, so he called reporter Guo Biao to point out the mistakes in the report and requested that they find a way to correct them. However, at that time, neither of them realized the serious consequences that the mistakes might cause, and because it involved the internal decision-making mechanism of the Southern Daily, they could not actually determine how to correct the report. On the same day, a relevant official from the Legal Affairs Office of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government also called the Southern Daily, pointed out the error in the description of Lawyer Wang Tengfeng's identity in the report, and requested a correction.
On the evening of April 13, 2011, Lawyer Wang Tengfeng, who was still working overtime in the law firm's office as usual, suddenly received a call from reporter Guo Biao. He learned that the Legal Affairs Office of the Shenzhen Municipal Government had requested the Southern Daily to publish the press release they had drafted on the same page the next day to correct the incorrect description of Lawyer Wang Tengfeng's title in the previous report. Seeing the "" from the Legal Affairs Office that Guo Biao later forwarded via email; Press release Lawyer Wang keenly realized that because he had so blatantly and clearly expressed views unfavorable to the government, it had hurt the sensitive nerves of some government officials. Now, it was time to take the opportunity to retaliate and suppress him. Lawyer Wang Tengfeng, who is accustomed to fighting for power, does not have words like "swallowing one's anger" or "submitting passively" in his dictionary. He immediately replied to the email and expressed a serious stance to the Southern Daily: He agrees that the Southern Daily can correct its mistakes in an appropriate way, but firmly opposes the use of news reporting methods with titles highlighting his own name. Subsequently, he also sent the revised manuscript content he had prepared by himself via email (Figures 103, 104, 105).
Figure 103: An email sent by reporter Guo Biao to lawyer Wang Tengfeng at 20:01 on April 13, 2011, informing him of the layout and content of the press release drafted by the Municipal Government's Legal Affairs Office.
Figure 104: On the evening of April 13, 2011, at 20:22, lawyer Wang Tengfeng replied to an email, firmly stating his disagreement with the stance of 'using Wang Tengfeng's name prominently as the title and publishing it in a news format.' The wording of the email already clearly expressed his indomitable will and determination to fight for his rights.
Figure 105: Lawyer Wang Tengfeng finally replied to the e-mail at 21: 11 p. m. on April 13, 2011, confirming the content and wording of the correction revelation that he could accept after negotiation, compromise and concession.
The communication, negotiation and negotiation among Lawyer Wang Tengfeng, the Legal Affairs Office of the Municipal government and the Southern Daily continued until after midnight. Caught in the middle and unable to coordinate the positions of both sides, the Southern Daily, which was unwilling to adhere to its own principles, had no choice but to let Lawyer Wang directly communicate with the relevant leaders of the Legal Affairs Office over the phone. The leader of the Legal Affairs Office firmly insisted that Wang Tengfeng was suspected of false publicity to boost his own popularity, while lawyer Wang insisted that the government department was attempting to take the opportunity to retaliate and suppress innocent lawyers. Neither side would give in, and the dispute ended in vain. When he finally hung up the phone, Lawyer Wang Tengfeng threw out a resounding" "Harsh words" I will definitely take legal action to defend my reputation and personal dignity!
The next day, April 14, 2011, the Southern Daily succumbed to pressure from the Legal Affairs Office of the Shenzhen Municipal Government and published in the 'AII04 Shenzhen Observation·Comprehensive' section headline the article 'Follow-up Report on the Dismantling of the ‘Palace on the Sea’——Shenzhen Municipal Government Legal Affairs Office Spokesperson Responds to ‘Palace on the Sea’ Reports: Wang Tengfeng is Not the Municipal Government Legal Advisor' (Figure 106). It can be seen that the Southern Daily fully met the requirements of the Shenzhen Municipal Government Legal Affairs Office: the headline highlighted the name 'Wang Tengfeng,' adopted a news report format, and focused on the three points of the Legal Affairs Office spokesperson's statement: 'First, Wang Tengfeng has never served as a full-time or part-time legal advisor in the Shenzhen Municipal Government Legal Advisory Office; second, the Shenzhen Municipal Government has never hired Wang Tengfeng as a legal advisor; third, Wang Tengfeng is also not a government employee.' The three sentences repeatedly emphasize the same meaning: that Wang Tengfeng is not only not the legal advisor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, but also not a government employee. The implication is that Wang Tengfeng intentionally pretended to be a legal advisor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, allegedly committing fraud, thereby leading the public to conclude that Wang Tengfeng’s so-called expert commentary is not only lacking in authority but also that his personal character is seriously problematic! Naturally, this further upholds the authority and positive image of the government in the entire incident, implying that all administrative measures taken by the government to dismantle the 'Palace on the Sea' were legal and justified! For lawyer Wang Tengfeng, the phrasing of the three statements by the Shenzhen Municipal Government Legal Affairs Office and the resulting social public opinion effect can truly be described as insidious, maliciously intentional, and striking at the heart with every sentence! The report briefly mentioned at the end that Wang Tengfeng 'also called the reporter' to point out factual errors. It is clear that the Southern Daily knew that both the content and form of the news release were illegal and infringing, but, due to the authority of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, had to report it. At the same time, they apparently felt guilty toward lawyer Wang Tengfeng and thus gave a slight reminder of the factual truth. However, under the typical news consumption pattern where readers only see the headline and the beginning, this reminder at the end is already meaningless. Even readers who patiently reach this ending would mostly just consider it a polite gesture to give lawyer Wang Tengfeng some face.
Figure 106: Photo of the headline of the "AII04 Shenzhen Observation Comprehensive" page of Nanfang Daily on April 14, 2011.
From the media and netizens who are not afraid of high stages to watch the play, they are all a little excited. Such an obvious confrontation between good shows is simply "..." Don't miss the excitement. Major websites once again competed to reprint the news articles from the Southern Daily (Figure 107). Not to mention the reactions of ordinary people, it first aroused the doubts and concerns of many relatives and friends of Lawyer Wang Tengfeng across the country. In order to protect his reputation, Lawyer Wang Tengfeng had to repeatedly explain and clarify for a long time after that, being exhausted both physically and mentally.
Figure 107: Around 9 a.m. on April 14, 2011, Xinhua Net reproduced the full text of the report from Southern Daily. This is a screenshot of the reprinted webpage.
(待续)
