Trial for China's 'smiling official' Yang Dacai

[Someday]

China’s 'Brother Wristwatch' Corrupt Official Yang Dacai Pleads Guilty to Bribery

By UMBERTO BACCHI | August 30, 2013 2:08 PM GMT

Chinese official Yang Dacai nicknamed 'Brother Wristwatch' has plead guilty to corruption charges (Nddaily.com)

A Chinese official, who was sacked after bloggers exposed his unwarranted wealth, including a collection of luxury watches, has pleaded guilty to corruption charges.

Yang Dacai, appeared before a court in Xi'an, central China, accused of taking 250,000 yuan (£26,000) in bribes and having bank deposits of 5.04m 250yuan (£530,000) from dubious sources.

Yang's downfall started last year, after he was pictured smiling and grinning at the scene of a bus crash that killed 36.

The 55-year-old head of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Work Safety tried to defend himself saying he was trying only to cheer up the rescue crew.

However, sharp-eyed netizens noted that he was wearing a very expensive watch.

Soon the web was flooded with a series of photos, each one showing Yang's wrist adorned with his pick of luxury watches. The collection included a $5,000 Montblanc, an Omega Constellation ($10,000) and a $32,000 Constantin, together with another eight timepieces for a combined total of $100,000 (£64,500).

Yang was soon nicknamed 'Brother Wristwatch' and sacked from his post for "severe violations of party discipline". Corruption charges followed shortly.

Ironically, before serving as a safety official, Yang was on the Communist party's watchdog group against corruption.

He faces several years in prison, with his sentencing to take place at a later date, state media reported.

Chinese authorities have cracked down on corruption since President Xi Jinping pledged to clean up the party upon taking office last year.

Most cases however have been built against provincial officials of medium or low importance, while more senior managers remain unpunished.

At the same time, authorities have launched a campaign against online speech, after many corrupted officials were exposed by bloggers.

A journalist, who alleged dereliction of duty by a senior official has been recently arrested and scores of social media users detained on charge of fabricating and spreading false rumours.

 

[Someday]

Chinese Government Official Smiling at Tragic Accident Scene

by Peter Barefoot on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

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From Sina:Shaanxi Yan’an Sleeper Coach Fire After Rear-End Collision, 36 Dead

Xinhuanet Xi’an August 26th news (Reported by Tao Ming, Shi Zhiyong) At 10 o’clock on the 26th, reporters learned from the scene that 36 people have been confirmed to have died in the terrible traffic accident that happened that morning within Yan’an city limits in Shaanxi province.reporters learned that the bus in the accident was allowed to carry 39 passengers, and was carrying 39 passengers. After the accident took place, 3 passengers escaped and survived.On the 26th at about 2am, a terrible traffic accident happened 200 meters away from the south exit of the Huaziping service area on Baomao Highway within the borders of Yan’an city of Shaanxi province. A double-decker sleeper coach with license plate number “蒙AK1475″ crashed into the rear of a tanker (containing methanol) with license plate number “豫RHD6962″, and setting the two vehicles on fire.

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From QQ:“Smiling Official” From the Scene of the Shaanxi Traffic Accident Has P
reviously Worn Many Expensive Watches

After the tragic traffic accident in Shaanxi, among the pictures that Xinhuanet took at the scene, one was of a local government official “stupidly laughing/smiling” at the accident scene. After this picture spread on Weibo, netizens were very much upset by it. Netizens quickly human flesh searched the official in the picture, determining him to be Yang Dacai, director of the Shaanxi Province Administration of Work Safety. Netizens suspect he is not the first government official who has smiled in the face of a disaster. Some leaders smiled and took group pictures at the scene of the air crash in Yichun the year before last year. At last year’s Xi’an gas explosion, an official also smiled. This picture is of the official smiling at the scene of the accident. Photographed by the Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yibo.

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While netizens were strongly condemning this official, a series of pictures showing this official wearing different wristwatches suspected of being of various famous international brands at different occasions was posted on the internet. Some netizens gathered public reports regarding Yang Dacai attending different activities and conferences, and found after comparing these pictures that when Yang attended different activities, he always changed the watches he wore, and that he had at least 5 different watches.

Sun Duofei, COO of the 5lux.net said on Weibo that she had asked professional in the industry, “In the first picture: a Rolex Oyster Perpetual worth about 65,000 yuan. In the second one: an Omega worth about 35,000-40,000 yuan. In the third one: a Vacheron Constantin with 18k rose gold watch case, and mechanical, estimated market price varies between 200,000-400,000 yuan. In the forth one: an Omega, worth about 30,000-40,000 yuan. In the fifth one: a Rado Full-Ceramic, estimated market price 30,000 yuan.”

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Among ordinary people, self-proclaimed watch identifying expert “花总丢了金箍棒” said that of these watch brands, “not many are first rate, mostly second rate, and mostly basic product lines”, and if they were all added together and if all genuine would be worth at least within 200,000 yuan.

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“花总丢了金箍棒” became famous for collecting news pictures of officials attending different activities and identifying their watches on Weibo. He says that he took note of Yang Dacai a year ago, and claims that he has more than just these several watches.

These pictures are of Yang Dacai wearing different watches.

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