A 60 y.o. Chinese environmentalist beaten by mob of 40 men

As we said the other day, being an environmentalist in China is not easy and potentially bad for your health. A mob reportedly beat up a local environmentalist who called for government officials to swim in a heavily polluted river in China.We’d written about the river’s plight a week ago (check out the photo of the river to the right).
Interestingly, the man who was assaulted was not the local business person who offered big money ($32,000) to a government environmental official if he’d swim in the polluted river, but instead they targeted a 60 year old activist who had backed the call.
We’re not immune “to two weights, two measures” in the US either (e.g., Wall Street getting away with economic destruction, while the little guy pays the price) but for the most part, it doesn’t involve street violence.

It looks like someone is not interested in cleaning up the river.

Polluted river in China

“My father was alone at home,” said 32-year-old Chen Xiufang. “Some 40 people turned up in plain clothes, some holding batons. The only thing they said was: “[You] used the internet, you always use the internet!”
“The whole thing lasted four or five hours until the police arrived. My father got hit in the head by six or seven people, with their fists. He is now feeling dizzy and sleeping all the time,” she added, claiming the attack had been orchestrated by local officials.
Calls to the mobile phone of the local Communist Party chief went unanswered on Wednesday.