Citizen Journalist Beaten to Death, Now Considered a ‘Martyr’

The world can be a dangerous place for journalists. Each year many are killed covering conflicts. The same can be said for citizen journalists who bear equal risks in reporting or capturing events.

Last month Wei Wenhua was driving in his car, in China, when he witnessed a horrific scene. 50 city inspectors were beating villagers who were attempting to halt trucks dumping trash near their home.

Wenhua took out his cell phone and began snapping photos of the assaults. The inspectors turned their ire toward Wenhua and beat him mercilessly. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was dead.

The inspector’s are known as “chengguan” in Chinese, and are auxiliary support for police. They are expected to deal with petty crimes, such as cracking down on unlicensed trading. They frequently are seen chasing street vendors off the streets and confiscating their goods.

Recently, sina.com published news of the beating, and the blogosphere lit up with comments from both in China and from around the world.

On blogs and publications around the world, Wei Wenhua is now being called a ‘martyr.’ He is thought to be the first citizen journalist killed while trying to capture an event as it was happening.