Confessed Police Killer Lionized by Thousands in China

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Yang Jia's Father Talks About His Son

Yang Fusheng, the father of convicted murderer Yang Jia, spoke with The Washington Post shortly after his son's trial, on his feelings about his son's trial.

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"Yang did what we dare not do," said an online blogger using the nickname Xiao Bin, referring not to the killings but to confronting police. "Because of him, when we go to Shanghai and bike on the street, we don't have to fear policemen beating us."

Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based American political analyst, said: "Support for Yang Jia shows intolerance for police brutality and authority exercised without restraint. This is not about an individual case. What you have is two very different views of what the government is: The government believes that rule is reinforced by retribution, but citizens increasingly detest power being exerted capriciously."

According to the official version of events, Yang arrived at the Zhabei Police Station in a northern neighborhood of Shanghai at 9:40 a.m. July 1, determined to retaliate for the bicycle incident.

Yang armed himself with tear gas, a knife, hammers, a hiking stick, plastic gloves and eight beer bottles that he had filled with gasoline from an auto repair shop, according to court testimony. After starting a fire at the front gate and slipping into the building, Yang began his killing rampage. He was finally found on the 21st floor, where seven police officers forced him into a corner with an office chair and disarmed him about 9:45 a.m.

Inconsistencies in the accounts, such as how Yang could have stabbed six officers to death and climbed 20 floors in five minutes, have not been explained. Yang was arrested, and according to the government, he confessed. Yang's first trial, on Aug. 26, was closed. His first attorney, Xie Youming, was a legal consultant to the Zhabei district government, a potential conflict of interest. On Sept. 1, the court found Yang guilty of intentional murder and sentenced him to death.

The case proceeded to the Shanghai Higher People's Court, where authorities mindful of public opinion allowed a more-open second trial on Oct. 13. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside. Yang's father and family attorney Liu attended, as did the Chinese news media. Ai Weiwei, an outspoken critic of the central government and the architect of the Bird's Nest stadium used for the Olympics, was also there.

"The facts are clear, the evidence is certainly ample, the designated crime is accurate, the measure of punishment is appropriate, and the trial procedures are legal," the judge, Xu Wei, said in upholding the sentence late last month. Yang, dressed in black pants and a blue shirt, showed little emotion. The case has now gone to China's Supreme Court.

After the verdict, Ai posted on his blog an account of the trial, including what Yang said in court. Liu, the family attorney, also posted articles raising legal questions about the case. Both Ai's original account and many of Liu's articles were deleted by government censors but were then posted again. Soon Ai's account was widely circulated on various Chinese community Web sites, and conversations about the case sprang up on online bulletin boards and other blogs and Web sites throughout China.

"The more the government tries to conceal, the more the public will doubt," said Zhou Shuguang, 27, a Beijing-based resident who calls himself a citizen reporter and blogs on the results of his investigations. "Right now we are still not clear about many details in Yang Jia's case. It's hard for us to believe that the policemen are innocent. And the legal procedure is not fair. It's not right to sentence Yang to death."

The case took another strange turn this week when Yang's mother, Wang Jinmei, missing since the killings, turned up in a mental hospital on the outskirts of Beijing, reportedly claiming that police had locked her up and forced her to hire a government lawyer.

"Yang Jia's case is about whether we can live safely in China. To support Yang Jia is to support ourselves in the future," said Yang Peihua, a businesswoman who showed up at the second hearing. "Now that the Supreme Court is reviewing the case, we can only count on the central government to uphold justice. Otherwise there is no hope in China at all."

Researcher Liu Songjie contributed to this report.