A man being held in detention in Kunming died in a hospital on Saturday with no clear cause of death, according to a Xinhua report.

According to a police spokesperson speaking to reporters on Sunday, 43-year-old Wang Shukun (王树坤) had been held in the Guandu District Detention Center since July 19 before being checked into a hospital by police on August 6. After undergoing emergency procedures to save his life, Wang died early Saturday, the spokesperson said.

Wang was initially arrested after a traffic accident between his relative Lu Chunlei and the driver of a cargo truck on July 18. Lu told Oriental Morning News that after colliding with the truck, he called several friends to the scene, including Wang Shukun. Lu said the driver of the truck called a man surnamed Zheng, whom he referred to as "boss".

Upon the arrival of Lu's friends and "boss" Zheng, Zheng allegedly began to curse at Lu's entourage, saying "You bunch of bastards, here for a free meal, are you?" and eventually claimed to be a policeman.

Lu said an altercation broke out, after which police showed up, allegedly allowing Zheng to beat members of Lu's group in their presence. Zheng, who sustained unspecified injuries during the fighting, was allowed to go to a hospital for treatment. Lu's friends, including Wang Shukun, were taken to the Guandu District's Shuangfeng Police Station. It was the last time Wang would be seen alive in public.

According to Wang's relative Lu Jin, the police said that Wang caught a cold on August 2, and took some medicine. On August 6, Wang became extremely uncomfortable and was taken to a prison hospital. The following night, his condition worsened and he died shortly after midnight on August 8. An investigation into the cause of Wang's death is underway.

Wang's case is somewhat reminiscent of the so-called "eluding the cat" case in which Li Qiaoming, a young man detained for illegal logging, died while in police custody in Jinning County. Jinning police drew the ire of Chinese netizens for dismissively claiming that Li was playing elude the cat (躲猫猫), a Chinese game similar to hide-and-seek.

Months after a media firestorm and creative attempts by the local government to contain the brewing PR disaster, the initial explanation was reversed.

Last Thursday police officers Su Shaolu and Li Dongming went on trial for abuse of inmates and dereliction of duty for failing to do anything about the bullying that allegedly led to Li Qiaoming's death.

Meanwhile, the term "dying from fever", the current official explanation of Wang Shukun's death in detention, is already being compared to "eluding the cat" by Chinese media commentators.

Survey: Street shots of unwitting 'models' acceptable
A recent survey on the Kunming forum bbs.clzg.cn suggests that Kunming's netizens are generally fine with the idea of photos taken of them on the street being fodder for hormone-driven forum discussions. The outcome is not surprising, given that forum posts featuring street shots of unwitting female models are a staple of the site.

According to the survey, almost 47 percent of respondents said they were willing to be the subject of street shots in online forums. Just over 20 percent said they didn't care either way, with the same amount saying they were unwilling to be shot on the street without their knowledge. Six percent said they were just going out to buy soy sauce (打酱油).

Carrefour stabbing victim seeking compensation
One of the three stabbing victims in last December's hostage incident at the Longquan Lu Carrefour has taken the French-owned supermarket to court seeking 159,690 yuan (US$23,370) for "compensation for injury, further treatment and mental consolation".

A Carrefour spokesperson said it had paid out 200,000 yuan for medical treatment for Xie Peiling (谢佩伶) and the two other women who were stabbed during a rampage by Lu Zhiwen (陆志文) on November 29 of last year.

"We're not responsible for whatever remains," the spokesperson said.

After his stabbing spree, Lu took a nurse hostage. He was shot and killed in the fifth hour of the standoff while trying to pick up a bowl of rice noodles police had left for him outside a door.

Design for new Workers' Culture Center unveiled
The design for the new Workers' Culture Center (工人文化宫) has been decided by a public vote, according to a Dushi Shibao report. Construction on the new Culture Hall, whose design is being described as "succinct with a grand air" (简洁大气), will begin on Renmin Dong Lu on May 1. The design was selected from a final group of four designs.

The new 245 million yuan facility will replace the current dilapidated Workers' Culture Center, which is located behind Dongfeng Plaza. The 43,000 square meter facility will include a gym and sports facility, a five-star cinema, meeting facilities, job training for the undereducated, reading facilities, music and dance lessons and more.

Street shot image: bbs.clzg.cn

Workers' Culture Center image: news.kunming.cn

In wake of the widespread disbelief expressed across the Chinese internet with regard to the official explanation that a 24-year-old man died from serious brain injuries while playing hide-and-seek in a detention center, the Yunnan government has taken the unusual step of appointing one of Kunming's most popular bloggers head of the investigation into the incident.

Kunming blogger Zhao Li (赵立), best known by his blog name Fengzhimoduan (风之末端 ) was named director of an investigation committee looking into the death of Yuxi resident Li Qiaoming, who had been detained in late January for illegal logging in Jinning County. Li was taken by police to a hospital on February 8 with brain injuries – four days later he was pronounced dead.

The incident caught the attention of the Chinese blogosphere and media because Jinning police told Li's parents that he had sustained the head injuries, as well as kicks and blows, while playing hide-and-seek with other inmates. In Chinese, hide-and-seek is known as 'duo maomao', or 'eluding the cat' – the Yunnan government now refers to Li's death as the 'Duo maomao incident'.

The blogger Zhao was chosen by the provincial government to head a committee of 15 investigators composed of four public security officers and prosecutors, three reporters and eight members of the public including Zhao, another blogger who was named deputy director of the investigation committee and three people who won an online lottery.

The unorthodox move to make popular bloggers heads of an investigation committee is a tacit admission by the Yunnan government of the power of the internet – especially blogs – in shaping Chinese public opinion. It also belies the widespread suspicion of the official version of Li's death.

Midday on Friday, Zhao and the rest of the committee arrived at the Jinning detention facility where Li had been held prior to hospitalization. The committee visited the cell where Li had been held and were shown documents related to the events leading up to his death. In the afternoon the committee held its first press conference with regard to the investigation.

"We're satisfied with the attitude of the police toward our investigation," investigation committee director Zhao said, "We're not professional investigators but we're doing our best."

As of 2 pm local time on Saturday, Zhao had yet to make any references to the investigation on his blog.

The arrest and subsequent death of a 24-year-old man in a county near Kunming has called the police explanation for the death – playing hide-and-seek – into question.

On January 30, Li Qiaoming (李荞明), a resident of Beicheng town in Yuxi, was arrested in Jinning County (晋宁县) for illegal logging and taken to a local detention facility. On February 8, Li reportedly suffered injuries while in detention and was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with severe brain damage – Li died in the hospital on February 12.

According to a February 13 report in Yunnan Information News, police in Jinning – which is located on the southern edge of Dianchi Lake – told Li's parents that their son had suffered his fatal injuries during a game of "elude the cat" (躲猫猫), the Chinese name for the children's game hide-and-seek.

The report stated that while playing hide-and-seek, Li was kicked and beaten by other detainees and due to his carelessness crashed into a wall, leading to his brain damage.

Li's relatives told the newspaper that they felt the official explanation for Li's death was "extremely farfetched" – an opinion that has been echoing throughout newspaper opinion pages and BBS sites across China.

Playing 'elude the cat' has become the first internet meme, or 'thunder word' (雷语) of 2009, becoming synonymous for danger and unclear circumstances.

'Eluding the cat' is the second internet meme to come out of southwest China in the last eight months: in July of 2008 thousands of residents of Weng'an, Guizhou province, rioted after police said a young girl drowned herself in the company of a young man who was "doing pushups" (做卧俯撑). 'Doing pushups' subsequently became a popular phrase among sarcastic – and typically young – Chinese netizens.

Jinning police have yet to release any further clarification of the events leading to Li Qiaoming's death.

Image: Yunnan Information News