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| Woman Is Arrested in Rape Rumor That Ignited Beijing Protest | Woman Is Arrested in Rape Rumor That Ignited Beijing Protest |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BEIJING — The Beijing police say they have arrested a woman for spreading online rumors in connection with the death of a migrant worker that touched off a rare protest in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. | |
| A 28-year-old Beijing woman surnamed Ma was arrested Thursday for writing on Sina Weibo, China’s largest Twitter-like microblog service, that the dead woman had been raped by seven security guards at a clothing market and then jumped from the building. | A 28-year-old Beijing woman surnamed Ma was arrested Thursday for writing on Sina Weibo, China’s largest Twitter-like microblog service, that the dead woman had been raped by seven security guards at a clothing market and then jumped from the building. |
| Suspicion that the victim, Yuan Liya, 22, from Anhui Province, was raped and possibly murdered led to hundreds of workers protesting outside the Jingwen mall in the Fengtai district of Beijing on Wednesday. The authorities responded with a huge display of force, with thousands of officers swarming the area, about four miles south of Tiananmen Square. | Suspicion that the victim, Yuan Liya, 22, from Anhui Province, was raped and possibly murdered led to hundreds of workers protesting outside the Jingwen mall in the Fengtai district of Beijing on Wednesday. The authorities responded with a huge display of force, with thousands of officers swarming the area, about four miles south of Tiananmen Square. |
| The police have said that their investigation found no indication that Ms. Yuan had been drugged, raped or murdered and suggested that her death was a suicide. | The police have said that their investigation found no indication that Ms. Yuan had been drugged, raped or murdered and suggested that her death was a suicide. |
| “We found no evidence she had been in contact with any strangers before the incident,” Zi Xiangdong, a spokesman for the Beijing police, told the state-run China Daily. “There were also no suspicious signs discovered in checks at the scene or in the autopsy report.” | “We found no evidence she had been in contact with any strangers before the incident,” Zi Xiangdong, a spokesman for the Beijing police, told the state-run China Daily. “There were also no suspicious signs discovered in checks at the scene or in the autopsy report.” |
| In a statement posted online, the police said Ms. Yuan’s family had not questioned their assessment. | In a statement posted online, the police said Ms. Yuan’s family had not questioned their assessment. |
| The large, unruly demonstration near the heart of Chinese political power triggered a rapid response from online censors, who blocked search terms including Ms. Yuan’s name and the name of the mall. A Beijing propaganda directive instructed microblogs to carry only the official police posts on the case and remove other comments, according to China Digital Times, a Web site affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, that covers Chinese media. | The large, unruly demonstration near the heart of Chinese political power triggered a rapid response from online censors, who blocked search terms including Ms. Yuan’s name and the name of the mall. A Beijing propaganda directive instructed microblogs to carry only the official police posts on the case and remove other comments, according to China Digital Times, a Web site affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, that covers Chinese media. |
| The popularity of microblogs has added further challenges to China’s efforts to control of the Internet. Last week the State Internet Information Office announced a crackdown on online rumors. One target of the campaign is well-known Weibo users with millions of followers, known as “big Vs” for the large letter V signaling a verified user next to their account names. | The popularity of microblogs has added further challenges to China’s efforts to control of the Internet. Last week the State Internet Information Office announced a crackdown on online rumors. One target of the campaign is well-known Weibo users with millions of followers, known as “big Vs” for the large letter V signaling a verified user next to their account names. |
| When journalists at the liberal Southern Weekend newspaper in Guangzhou rallied in January against increasing censorship, several “big Vs” voiced support online, raising propaganda officials’ concerns about the growth of popular and independent voices on social media. | When journalists at the liberal Southern Weekend newspaper in Guangzhou rallied in January against increasing censorship, several “big Vs” voiced support online, raising propaganda officials’ concerns about the growth of popular and independent voices on social media. |
| On Friday, that online censorship eased somewhat to allow discussion of the case. Ms. Yuan’s death was a leading topic on Sina Weibo, but suggestions of rape and murder were still being deleted. The trending term “Case of the Anhui girl who fell to her death” was appended with a notice that the police have said her death was not a homicide. | On Friday, that online censorship eased somewhat to allow discussion of the case. Ms. Yuan’s death was a leading topic on Sina Weibo, but suggestions of rape and murder were still being deleted. The trending term “Case of the Anhui girl who fell to her death” was appended with a notice that the police have said her death was not a homicide. |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: May 10, 2013 | Correction: May 10, 2013 |
An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of the district where a protest was held in Beijing. It was in the Fengtai district, not Fentai. | An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of the district where a protest was held in Beijing. It was in the Fengtai district, not Fentai. |