Chinese general's son in gang-rape trial | World news | theguardian.com
Chinese general's son in gang-rape trial
Li Tianyi, 17, denies raping woman in Beijing hotel with four other men as high-profile case gets under way
Wednesday 28 August 2013 11.28 BST
Li Tianyi, whose father is a general with the People's Liberation Army, is accused of raping the woman in February. Photograph: Reuters
Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing
A prominent Chinese general's teenage son accused of gang-rape denied the charges against him as his trial began on Wednesday, in a case that has triggered outrage about entitlement and misbehaviour among the country's privileged elite.
Li Tianyi, 17, stands accused of raping a woman in a Beijing hotel with four other men in February. Li claimed that he was drunk at the time and had no knowledge of the incident, according to state media reports.
Li's father, Li Shuangjiang, is a People's Liberation Army general and the dean of the music department at the army's Academy of Arts. His mother, prominent singer Meng Ge, was present at the Beijing courthouse on Wednesday, but refused to answer reporters' questions, according to China's state newswire Xinhua. The proceedings will not be made public because the defendant is an adolescent, Xinhua said.
The complainant did not appear in court for health-related reasons, her lawyer told the newswire. Li's family members have said that she was a bar hostess and argued that the case is one of prostitution, not rape.
The children of China's moneyed and powerful elite, often pejoratively referred to as "second-generation rich", are routinely represented in China's media and online chatrooms as spoiled, reckless and confident that their family connections put them above the law.
Li's case sparked controversy in July, when Tsinghua University law professor Yi Yanyou wrote on his microblog that the rape was less harmful because of the woman's profession. "Chaste women and prostitutes have different views on chasteness," he told the Wall Street Journal after the post went viral, "so [rape has] a different impact on them."
Li Tianyi was the second most-read topic on Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblog, on Wednesday afternoon; it has dominated Chinese newspaper headlines for weeks. This month the Beijing Times quoted an "insider" as revealing details of the rape. The report said Li and his friends forced the complainant into a hotel room and beat her after she refused to take off her clothes. Li allegedly raped her first then his friends followed. They allegedly gave the woman 2,000 yuan (about £200) and dumped her on the roadside.
Li has been in the spotlight before – in 2011 he and a friend, driving expensive cars without licences, attacked a couple that allegedly stood in their way as their five-year-old child looked on helplessly. Li was detained for assault and spent a year in a correctional facility, according to state media. His father offered the couple compensation.
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/comparing-asias-giants-china-and-india-on-rape/?_r=0
Comparing Asia’s Giants, China and India, on Rape By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
Anupam Nath/Associated Press In December, Indian women participated in a silent procession to mourn the death of a New Delhi gang rape victim.
BEIJING — Women in China experience less sexual harassment in public places than women in India, two Asian nations with similar sized populations and fast economic growth which I compare, in terms of rape, in today’s Female Factor Letter.
A host of cultural and sociological factors probably account for that. And though the relationship between sexual harassment and rape may also be complex, researchers say rape is as big a problem in China as anywhere else.
According to The Hindu newspaper, Indian authorities first published data on rape in 1973, when life in China was still distorted by the Cultural Revolution which ended around when Mao Zedong died in 1976.
There are widespread, often anecdotal, reports of forced sex during that largely lawless decade, often carried out by power holders upon the powerless. Women wanting to escape political exile in the countryside, get an education or just survive may have parlayed sexual relations in which they were largely unwilling participants into advantage – a gray area when the power relationship is so unequal. It’s a factor that continues to figure today in discussions with feminists or researchers of rape in Chinese society.
Take the case of Li Tianyi, also known as Li Guanfeng, 17, whose father is a prominent army general and singer, detained last week in Beijing for allegedly taking part in a gang rape in the city.
According to Beijing News, the police this week denied widespread online reports that the victim, who has not been named, dropped charges against Mr. Li and four accomplices in exchange for financial compensation including an apartment, job and legal residence in Beijing. (Every Chinese has a “hukou,” or residence permit, which determines his or her legal residence and influences their life opportunities, and this woman was reportedly from out of town.)
“Criminal cases are brought by the prosecutors and cannot be withdrawn by the victim as they please,” the newspaper said, citing “official” sources. The case, which has attracted widespread attention in China, is still in the investigative stages “so one can’t even talk about the victim revoking the accusation,” the Beijing police were quoted as saying.
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http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/comparing-asias-giants-china-and-india-on-rape/?_r=0
Comparing Asias Giants, China and India, on Rape By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW
Anupam Nath/Associated Press In December, Indian women participated in a silent procession to mourn the death of a New Delhi gang rape victim.
BEIJING Women in China experience less sexual harassment in public places than women in India, two Asian nations with similar sized populations and fast economic growth which I compare, in terms of rape, in todays Female Factor Letter.
A host of cultural and sociological factors probably account for that. And though the relationship between sexual harassment and rape may also be complex, researchers say rape is as big a problem in China as anywhere else.
According to The Hindu newspaper, Indian authorities first published data on rape in 1973, when life in China was still distorted by the Cultural Revolution which ended around when Mao Zedong died in 1976.
There are widespread, often anecdotal, reports of forced sex during that largely lawless decade, often carried out by power holders upon the powerless. Women wanting to escape political exile in the countryside, get an education or just survive may have parlayed sexual relations in which they were largely unwilling participants into advantage a gray area when the power relationship is so unequal. Its a factor that continues to figure today in discussions with feminists or researchers of rape in Chinese society.
Take the case of Li Tianyi, also known as Li Guanfeng, 17, whose father is a prominent army general and singer, detained last week in Beijing for allegedly taking part in a gang rape in the city.
According to Beijing News, the police this week denied widespread online reports that the victim, who has not been named, dropped charges against Mr. Li and four accomplices in exchange for financial compensation including an apartment, job and legal residence in Beijing. (Every Chinese has a hukou, or residence permit, which determines his or her legal residence and influences their life opportunities, and this woman was reportedly from out of town.)
Criminal cases are brought by the prosecutors and cannot be withdrawn by the victim as they please, the newspaper said, citing official sources. The case, which has attracted widespread attention in China, is still in the investigative stages so one cant even talk about the victim revoking the accusation, the Beijing police were quoted as saying.
ALL
PREVIOUS POST I