This Is How We Interviewed Wen Qiang

(CNN)  Ex-Chinese official executed for corruption.  July 8, 2010.

The highest-ranking official accused of collusion with gangs that terrorized the central city of Chongqing has been executed, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. Wen Qiang, 55, former director of the Chongqing Justice Bureau, had been convicted of corruption charges involving organized crime, Xinhua said. He was sentenced to death by a lower court April 14 for accepting bribes, shielding criminal gangs, rape and failing to account for his cash and assets, the news agency said. Wen lost an appeal May 21. He was executed in Chongqing on Wednesday.

The Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court ruled that Wen took bribes totaling more than 12 million yuan (more than $1.7 million U.S.) personally or through his wife from 1996 to 2009. In return, Wen offered posts for officials and helped companies and businesses obtain illegal profits, Xinhua said.

Wen also was convicted of shielding five major organized crime gangs in Chongqing after accepting bribes worth 756,500 yuan (more than $110,000 U.S.). In addition, the court ruled that Wen raped a university student after getting her drunk in August 2007, Xinhua said. Wen failed to account for the sources of more than 10 million yuan (nearly $1.48 million U.S.) in personal assets, Xinhua reported, and all of his personal property was seized.

Wen is the brother-in-law of the so-called "godmother" of Chongqing's underworld. Xie Caiping was sentenced to 18 months in prison last year. She was accused of operating gambling dens, trafficking in drugs, giving and collecting bribes, and antagonizing citizens, including policemen who tried to investigate her illicit activities.

The corruption trials, covered extensively by Chinese media, have transfixed the nation and rallied Chongqing residents, who claim they are fed up with being bullied by their own local officials.

"Only capital punishment will serve him right. He deserves to be killed a thousand times," one person commented online about Wen in February.  "The Wen Qiang case is only the tip of the iceberg," another wrote. "If China wants more rapid development, there should be a purge to wipe out all the corrupted officials in Communist Party."

(The Wall Street Journal)  A Gangster¡¦s Last Pleasures: Family and Steamed Eggs    James T. Areddy.  July 8, 2010.

Hours before he was put to death for his role in Chongqing¡¦s underworld scandal, the city¡¦s former top cop enjoyed steamed eggs and a brief, tearful family reunion.

Wen Qiang was executed on Wednesday with a lethal injection of chemicals at Mount Gele after his appeal of a range of corruption charges was rejected by China¡¦s Supreme Court. The former top judicial official and senior policeman was the highest-level person snared in Chongqing¡¦s sensational gangland roundup over the past year.

Outside Chongqing, news of Wen¡¦s execution initially hewed strictly to the Xinhua news agency¡¦s official version. But now, various Chinese media are filling in details of Wen¡¦s final hours, including news of his last meal, meetings with his son and parting words ¡V as well as the enthusiastic reaction of some in Chongqing.

On Tuesday afternoon, Wen was paid a visit by Wang Lijun, director of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau, who stayed for 50 minutes.

For dinner that night, Wen ate a simple meal of three steamed eggs, with a pear for dessert. (Rather different from the final repasts most American death-row prisoners have chosen.)

Wen requested permission to catch that night¡¦s World Cup semifinal, according to a report in China Youth Daily, which obtained special access to the jail. He had viewed televised highlights of earlier matches, but it¡¦s not clear he saw the Netherlands beat Uruguay.

Wen was asleep when jailers roused him just after 5:00 a.m. China Youth Daily says its reporters were permitted to see Wen around 5:30 a.m. The interview yielded little from Wen, who was wearing a crisp, cream-colored shirt, but stared blankly at the reporter. ¡§I wasn¡¦t prepared¡¨ for the interview), he said. ¡§Your questions cannot be answered with a couple of sentences. I will go to court very soon, now I need to prepare for that.¡¨ Around 7:15 a.m., Wen was taken to a courtroom and told the Supreme Court had decided his time had come.

Within the hour, Wen was granted a 10-minute visit with his son, Wen Jiahao, and an older sister, Wen Wanqin.

¡§Don¡¦t hate society. Don¡¦t be influenced by this story. Don¡¦t hate others,¡¨ the father said, according to an interview the son gave later to China Youth Daily.

¡§At the end of our meeting, I requested from the leaders on the spot a chance to have a hug with my dad, and this request was approved,¡¨ the son said.

¡§I hugged my dad firmly. It was the firmest I ever remember my dad hugging me since I had grown up. We hugged for more than 10 seconds. And finally, I bowed to him,¡¨ said the younger Wen with tears in his eyes, adding: ¡§He cried.¡¨ The sister told Caijing Magazine her brother told his son: ¡§Your father is guilty.¡¨ By 9:05 a.m., a vehicle carrying Wen entered the execution section of Mount Gele, on the grounds of the Baigongguan and Zhazidong prisons. Police escort vehicles remained outside the three-meter-high walls.

Within 10 minutes, the motorcade was pulling down from the mountain, indicating the deed was done.

A cellphone text message to Chongqing residents announced Wen¡¦s execution, prompting some to light celebratory fireworks, People¡¦s Daily said. A photograph on the paper¡¦s website shows a banner near the court: ¡§Wen Qiang¡¦s Death ¡V People¡¦s Happiness ¡V Chongqing¡¦s Peace.¡¨ Wen¡¦s wife, Zhou Xiaoya, protested to China Youth Daily, ¡§He shouldn¡¦t be sentenced to death¡KHe indeed did wrong things to people and to the party, but not to the degree warranting the death penalty.¡¨ China Youth Daily said that by 5:00 p.m. Wen¡¦s son had collected his father¡¦s ashes.


(China Youth Daily)  "If I can reverse time, I would still choose Wen Qiang"  July 8, 2010.

On this afternoon, the China Youth Daily interviewed Wen Qiang's wife Zhou Xiaoya inside a certain detention center in Chongqing.  At the time, Zhou was still unaware that Wen Qiang had been executed.

Q: How do you rate Wen Qiang as a husband?
A (unhesitatingly): He is my good husband.  He is good to me and my son.  He cares a lot about the family.

Q: How did he show his care for the family?
A (flinching her the corner of her lip upwards): He would tell me everything that happened outside.  If I fell ill, he made all the arrangements to see that I was very well taken care of.

Q: After the first trial, you seemed particularly emotional about the verdict.  Is this because you cannot accept your verdict?
A: No.  I could not accept the death sentence for him.  He did not deserve to die for his crimes.  He really did not deserve to die.  He make mistakes.  He let the people down.  He let the Party down.  But he did not deserve to die.

Q: As Wen Qiang's wife, what is your rating of his "contributions"?  Assuming 100 is the maximum and 0 is the minimum.
A: I give him 100.

Q: About his "mistakes," what is your rating?  Assuming 100 is the maximum and 0 is the minimum.
A: I give him 50.

Q: That is to say, his "contributions" are more than his "mistakes."
A: Yes.  At home, when the phone rings even if it is late night, he would say, "Damn, something has gone wrong" and he would rush out.  He was always in front whenever anything goes wrong.

Q: How would you rate his operational and management skills?
A: He is good operationally in what he does.  He rose through the ranks after leaving school to work.

Q: How would you rate his character?
A: He is too straightforward.  When his friends ask him for favors, he complies.  He is a good friend.

Q: You mentioned friends.  Are people like Zhou Hongmei true friends?
A: I think so.

Q: They were said in the verdict to have bribed Wen Qiang.
A: They got him into trouble, but they could not help it.

Q: The amount of bribes that have been determined to have taken place is quite shocking.  When Wen Qiang took money from people, were there bottom lines and principles?
A: He had pretty strong principles.  He did not say okay to everybody who sought him out.

Q: But Wen Qiang had asked police station chiefs to toast the "misses" and he had taken money from others.  Is this principled or unprincipled?
A: I only found out about it during the court trial.  This was because he had been drunk.

Q: Do you think that Wen Qiang changed on account of personal reasons or the system's problems?
A: The system?  I don't understand.

Q: Do you feel that when Wen Qiang became the deputy director of the public security bureau, his powers were not supervised by anyone?
A: I still don't understand.

Q: When did you begin to sense that Wen Qiang begin to be dishonest?
A: In 2009.  I began to think that he was living dishonestly.  Sometimes he couldn't sleep.  He woke up in the middle of the night to watch television.

Q: When people began to hand money over, were you worried about trouble coming?  Did you talk to Wen Qiang?
A: I was worried.  I asked Wen Qiang.  He said that there was no problem.

Q: May I ask you a more personal question that you don't have to answer?  Wen Qiang drank a lot outside and he had a lot of women.  Can you accept a husband like that?
A: There was nothing that I can do.  I am open-minded.  Women nowadays ... how can men resist the temptation?

Q: You imply that Wen Qiang was seduced by the women?
A: Yes.

Q: Are you still willing to accept responsibility for Wen Qiang even now?
A: Yes

Q: If possible, are you willing to accept his likely death sentence?
A: I don't have a choice because I still have a son.

Q: If Wen Qiang's death sentence is affirmed after the appeal, can you accept it?
A: I can only accept it.  What can I do?

Q: If there is an opportunity, which would you choose -- a life in which you lack money but you live freely versus a life if you had a lot of money before but you lose your freedom now?
A: Freedom is more valuable.

Q: If time can be reversed, would you still marry Wen Qiang?
A: I will still choose Wen Qiang.

Q: What is your greatest wish right now?
A: I wish that my husband can live.  That is my greatest wish.

Q: What would you like to say to your son?
A: I hope that he can find a job and make a living.  He will have to take care of me in the future.  (Then she earnestly asked the reporter about the situation of her son)

(China Youth Daily)  "My dad gave me the most powerful hug of my life."  July 8, 2010.

Internet rumors say that Wen Qiang's son Wen Jiahao was "missing."  Actually, he is completely free.  Today at 8am, Wen Qiang learned that the Supreme People's Court had upheld his death sentence which was to be carried out immediately.  He met with his son and sister in the courtroom.

In the afternoon, the China Youth Daily reporter interviewed 28-year-old Wen Jiahao next to a mahjong table in a Chongqing restaurant.

Q: How long did you chat with your father today?
A: About ten minutes.

Q: What did your father say to you today?
A: He said mainly for me to take care of my own health, to visit my mother after she goes to prison.  He also told me not to hate society, not to be affected by his problems, not to hate other people.

Q: He told you not to hate society?
A: He said that he made mistakes, so I shouldn't hate other people.  If I want to blame someone, I can blame him.  He said that he had once been glorious with his feats.  But if he made mistakes, he ought to punished likewise.

Q: What was his emotional state?
A: When we met, I and my father and my aunt were emotional.  We could not find outselves to talk until two to three minutes later.  What can we say?  Suddenly many things could not be said anymore.

Q. What did he say about your future life?
A: He told me to go find a job, get married, have kids and take care of my mother.

Q: He told you not to hate society on account of what happened to your father.  Do you hate society?
A: I can't say hate.  I don't really understand my father.  How shall I say?  But I am still touched.

Q: How do you think that your father's case will eventually end up?
A: I hope that the Party and the government will give him one more chance to live.  In China, there is a saying: the contributions do not cancel the mistakes.  But my father had been the deputy director for many years and he contributed a lot towards crime investigation in Chongqing.  In my heart, I hope that the sentence can be altered.

Q: As the son of a senior cadre, did you have a sense of superiority?
A: From a small age, I rarely do anything with my father.  I kept to myself.  In the eyes of others, my father was a senior official and I must have a sense of superiority.  But I never really felt that way.

Q: What about your future plans?
A: My future plans?  I will rest for a few months first.  After all, I have not recovered psychologically.  Let me wait a few more months until I recover.  Like my father told me, I will get a job, find a girlfriend, get married and have a child.

Q: How would you assess your father?
A: Frankly, I still adore him.  He was a peasant but he was able to rise up to where he was, including his most glorious moment when he arrested Zhang Jun, solved the armored van robbery case, etc.  Although he made mistakes and committed crimes, I still admire him.

Q: How about your mother?
A: She was just a housewife.  I think that her sentence was too heavy.  My mother has been ill, so this has been a big blow to her.  I am afraid that something might happen to her.  I have already lost my father.  My mother received an eight-year prison sentence, which I think is too heavy.  I personally think that my mother was just a dutiful housewife.  She did not extort bribes, she did not take money without doing work, etc.  I think that my father was responsible for the bribes.

Q: You just said that you were looking for a job.  If the opportunity arises, would you become a policeman?
A: I used to want to become a policeman.  But I was too dreamy and I did not become a policeman.

Q: Was your father a good policeman in your eyes?
A: That is too simplistic.  He has his positives and negatives.  Everybody has positive and negative aspects.  These ought to be discussed separately.

Q: On a scale of 100 being highest score and 0 being lowest score, how would assess the "positive contributions" of your father?
A: I would give him about 90.

Q: On a scale of 100 being highest score and 0 being lowest score, how would you assess the "negative mistakes" of your father?
A: I would give him 80 for his negatives.  I have read so many news reports.  I should say that he made many big mistakes.

Q: Through what channels did you find out about your father's crimes?
A: Through reports in newspapers, television and Internet.

Q: Did you think that the normal incomes of your parents could sustain the excellent lifestyle of your family?
A: How shall I say?  I feel that during the major festivals, people gave red envelopes to my father without asking for any favors.  This was just gift exchange among friends.  Some of them did not ask for any favors, so it was not a case of trading money for power.  There are many other families who are better off than us.  We did not even have a car.

Q: Did you think that some of these "red envelopes" had too much money in them?  Did that worry you?
A: I thought about it.  I was worried.

Q: Did you talk to your father?
A: I talked to him.

Q: What did he say in reply?
A: He did not really reply.  He only said that this was the adults' affairs.  "Don't you worry about it."  I basically did not know what he was up to.  I never imagined that my father's problems were so serious.

Q.  Do you think that your father ended up this way because of personal reasons or because of the system?
A.  Most of all, my father was wrong.  But the system is also flawed.

Q.  How is the system flawed according to you?
A.  The bigger your powers, the greater your mistakes.  He made so many mistakes for so many years.  If they were rectified earlier, he would not end up like this.

Q: Why weren't the mistakes corrected?
A: Firstly, my father did his job well and that covered up his mistakes.  Secondly, there was not enough supervision or else my father could not behave that way.  If he knew that his mistakes would be found out and the system is tight, he would not dare make those mistakes.

Q: What do you think about the problem of corruption?
A: I think that this problem exists in every country.

Q: Do you think that there are lots of people like your father?
A: I think that there are very few people who make so many big mistakes.  There are many who make smaller mistakes.

Q: What do you think about money?
A: My life is not like what the outside world thinks.  I wear my father's clothes.  When I go out, I take a taxi at the most.  I do not drive a "sports vehicle" like they say.  Before my father got into trouble, I spent two to three thousand a month.  I can earn a living to sustain myself.

Q: How would you assess your father's character?
A: He is strong-willed and determined.  He is very decisive.  This kind of character trait is useful for solving criminal cases.  But it could also cause him to make mistakes.

Q: Which episode impresses you most about your father?
A: When I was 18 or 19 years old, he solved the case of Zhang Jun.  He got reward money and he held a celebratory banquet.  After drinking some wine, he described the case to me.

Q: Did you know that Zhang Jun told your father: "Ten years later, you will become me"?
A: I really haven't heard that one.

Q: As your father got job promotions, did he change a lot?
A: I did not perceive a lot of changes.  I did not have a lot of interaction with him normally.

Q: Did your father say anything about apologizing to anyone today?
A: He said that he let me and my mother down.  He let a lot of people down.  I sensed his deep regret.  He told my aunt that that he missed the sisters.  He wanted my aunt to send his regards to them.  He said, "I miss them."

Q: Did you father hug you?
A: Finally, I asked the leader present if I could hug my dad.  He assented.  I and my father hugged each other closely.

Q: How "close" is "close"?
A: This was the most powerful hug that my father ever gave me in all my life.  We hugged for more than ten seconds.  Then I knelt down and kowtowed.

Q: Did you notice your father's expression at the time?
A: He ... was crying.

Q: Do you think that you will do what your father told you?
A: I will definitely do what he asked me to do.

Q: One last question.  It was rumored that you had "disappeared."  Are you free?
A: I was held in a detention center on suspicion of "destroying the evidence."  But the procuratorate decided not to prosecute me.  I have been completely free since June 2.  My freedom has not been affected in any way.

(China Youth Daily)  This is how we interviewed Wen Qiang.  July 12, 2010.

At 3am on July 7, I came to this detention center 52 kilometers away from my home to interview Wen Qiang.  I realized that this would be the most important day of my professional career.

Although Wen Qiang is not the most senior official to receive capital punishment, society has paid more attention to Wen Qiang than any other previously fallen official.  The huge discrepancy between Wen Qiang's role as public security bureau deputy director and his actual shielding of criminal organizations made him a landmark symbol.  For common folks, public safety issues are directly connected to the quality of life, and the biggest threat to public safety is criminal organizations.  Criminal organizations thrive when they have "protective shields" and Wen Qiang was the biggest "protective shield" for them.  With this logic, whether Wen Qiang can be punished through the due process of the law is a bellwether for the success of the anti-crime campaign in Chongqing.

The relevant authorities in Chongqing took the unprecedented move of allowing a media reporter to interview Wen Qiang in his final hours.  It showed that the relevant departments had full confidence in their case when they allowed a third party to interview the condemned criminal and make the results known to the public.

When I entered the detention center, I did not realize that something explosive was going to take place: Wen Qiang was about to be executed that day.

I was completely versed in the case of Wen Qiang because I attended the first and second trials all the way through.  On May 21, the verdict of the second trial of Wen Qiang was announced.  The death sentence imposed in the first trial was upheld.  I began to make preparations to interview Wen Qiang.  I reviewed all the information about Wen Qiang and I came up with 287 questions.  If Wen Qiang could answer all these questions, it will be a full-dimensional representation of the real Wen Qiang.  All these various rumors about him could be verified or clarified, and the readers will know about all his experiences, including the sweetness as well as bitterness of his life.

More than one month ago, I had already prepared eight full pages of close-ended questions.  I did not delve into the rumors about him and the female movie stars, because the readers of China Youth Daily do not care.  We really wanted to know that after experiencing the highs and lows of life in a rollercoaster ride, how does Wen Qiang see life?  How does he summarize the lessons for himself? ... I also wanted to know about certain details.  Did he have an idol while still in the police academy?  What role did alcohol play in his life during his working career?  Did he miss his beloved hot pot while being held in the detention center? ...

Before the interview started, we were informed that we had at most one hour.  We quickly picked six sets of questions that we deemed to have the most value.  Three more questions could be asked if there is still time left.

The six sets of qustions were:

1. Who do you want to see the most at this moment?  What do you want to say to him/her?

2. Do you remember when the first time that you took money from someone was?  Were you nervous?  Did you struggle in your mind for a long time, or did it happen in a flash?

You took so much money and so many watches on so many occasions from so many people.  You don't need all of it.  What was the point?

Do you agree with the analysis that "you didn't really care how much money you took but you only enjoyed the happiness from the fact that your authority got you this money"?

Have you ever felt that you were living an surreal life?  If so, when did that begin?

3. Do you deny that when you ordered your underlings to transfer the murder cases to Huang Daiqiang's squad so that the arrested suspects were released, you were shaking up public confidence in the judiciary to the core?

4. Do you deny that after you became the deputy director of the public security bureau, your authority was not subject to any supervision?

5. How do you see the verdict for your case?

6. Certain people define success as earning big money and rising to become a senior official.  How do you see that?  When you were a policeman, how did you define success?  Concerning the direction of your own life, what experiences and lessons do you have?

We went to Wen Qiang's cell and we sincerely expressed our wish to interview him.  But the sleepy-eyed Wen Qiang was completely uncooperative.  In order to make him talk, we changed our interview approach and used this opening question: "Some people think that you are one of the top crime detectives in China.  Do you agree with this assertion?"

Regrettably, Wen Qiang did not directly answer this question which may have opened the flow.  He only used the Chongqing dialect to say that he needed to prepare for the court hearing.  He was not completely resistant to a media interview, but he was just unwilling to do one at that particular time.  He hinted that the interview could be held after the court hearing.

But at that moment, neither the reporter nor Wen Qiang were aware that there would be no opportunity for an interview.  The things that Wen Qiang might have wanted to tell the public at the last moment will forever remain unknown because he chose not to speak.  As the last media reporter to speak to him, my regret is unmatched.  There was no way for me to know whether Wen Qiang had any regrets of his own as the prison van carried him towards the execution field in Geleshan.

At 6:24am, Wen Qiang departed from the detention center.  This reporter saw six police vehicles lined up in a row and many more court police officers than normal.  This reporter sensed that Wen Qiang was going to be told about the death sentence decision.  I looked at Wen Qiang and I saw that this expression changed suddenly.  Perhaps he had a premonition.

In the last four hours of his life before this moment, Wen Qiang was unaware that the death sentence was going to carried out.  He took his medicine, he combed his hair occasionally and he carefully reviewed the verdict and his own notes.  These details let me sense that he valued his life.  According to an informed source, Wen Qiang acted normally and slept well the previous night.

During the Wen Qiang trial, this reporter has confirmed that although Wen Qiang worked within the political and legal system for a long time, he was not familiar with the particulars of court procedures.  Perhaps he believed that he was going to attend another court hearing on this day.

After witnessing the final moments of Wen Qiang's life, we interviewed his wife Zhou Xiaoya and his son Wen Jiahao.

Zhou Xiaoya used to grumble about Wen Qiang.  As a husband, Wen Qiang had been unfaithful.  During the first trial, Zhou Xiaoya stated clearly that Wen Qiang was aware that she accepted money from people.  After learning that Wen Qiang got the death sentence, Zhou Xiaoya completely reversed her testimony during the second trial.  She claimed that Wen Qiang was unaware that she took money from people.

But Zhou Xiaoya's testimony could not change Wen Qiang's fate.  At that moment, the only criteria were his criminal deeds and the law.  The criminal deeds of Wen Qiang were harmful to society, which his friends and relatives cannot change by their personal opinions.  As a senior police official, Wen Qiang abused his public authority.  He colluded and shielded criminal organizations, thus undermining public confidence in the judiciary.  He was running in a direction that was completely opposite to his professional mission.

The reporter's initial impression of Wen Jiahao was: This was a young man who did not have any bad social habits and therefore completely unlike Wen Qiang in style.  He was no different in thinking and behavior from those young lads who are obsessed with online games.

We did not think that his family ought to renounce Wen Qiang when he was given the death sentence fairly under the law.  They did not have to condemn him.  Our questions were all based upon human nature.  We published the interviews with Zhou Xiaoya and Wen Jiahao as they happened.  We presented what these two persons with special connections to Wen Qiang said when he was executed.  This is just what a reporter does.  It does not represent the opinions of the reporter or the media organization.  The rights and wrongs of Wen Qiang will be left to history and the law to make a full evaluation.

In truth, before I interviewed the two of them, I had lunch in a restaurant on Yuzhou Road, Chongqing city.  Everybody in the restaurant was talking about the just announced execution of Wen Qiang.  Most of them thought that Wen Qiang deserved to die.  His greatest problem was that as a senior official, he corrupted the police.  He had intimate ties with night club owners and he accepted their sexual bribes.  As a result, the night club owners were unafraid and the deterrent effect of the judiciary was diminished.  It is impossible to describe how bad the impact was with just a few words here.

For the citizens of Chongqing, the death of Wen Qiang is a victory for the law.  This was something that the people wished for.  For this reporter who witnessed the final moments of Wen Qiang, the case of Wen Qiang should not end with his execution.  On the contrary, this case ought to be systematically summarized and presented as a cautionary tale.  We ought to think about how to avoid the coming of a second Wen Qiang.  Everybody ought to think about it.  Those people responsible for designing the system ought more so to think about it.

Wen Qiang's home used to be unbelievably luxurious.  He used to own tens of millions yuan.  In the final eleven months of his life, he was able to enjoy a "room of his own" (in the detention center).  But he could not watch sunrise or sundown, and he could not watch the flowers bloom and wither.  His birthday occurred two days before his first trial.  He did not have the usual group of well-wishing visitors; nobody gave him red envelopes.  He had his own "office desk," but he could not write any directives (to underlings).  He was only able to write his own defense while he waited to learn his own fate in anxiety, fear and prayers.  In the end, his life was ended passively.

This reporter has worked in Chongqing for almost ten years.  I have eaten dinner and drank wine with Wen Qiang.  I have also visited Wen Qiang in his prison cell.  It was hard to believe that the powerful senior official Weng Qiang and the closely watched prisoner Wen Qiang in the final hours of his life were the one and same person on the basis of looks, actions and conversations.  The difference was like that between heaven and earth.  It was shocking and saddening.  Perhaps Wen Qiang realized in his final moments that glory and wealth are not as valuable as freedom and life.

From this angle, after the conviction and death of Wen Qiang, we have something that should draw our attention even more so than the death of Wen Qiang: to analyze the path of downfall of Wen Qiang, to seek the lesson from the manifestation of human qualities during his final four days, his final four hours ...

Wen Qiang completely betrayed the professional duties of a policeman.  He took the huge psychological fall from the deputy director of the public security bureau to become a criminal.  In the end, he paid with his own life.

The mountain breeze brushed over the execution field on Geleshan.  Corruption is a dead-end street.  As each of us remember the death of Wen Qiang in the summer of 2010, we need to reflect and caution ourselves: How do we avoid having another Wen Qiang?  How do we rebuild our life values?  How do we restore the authority of and confidence in the law?  How do we control our own desires?  Then we can avoid repeating the mistakes of Wen Qiang.