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The trouble began with a gruesome photograph posted on the Web. |
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It showed a lifeless man pinned under the tire of a large truck. |
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Police called it a simple traffic accident, but few things are simple when the victim is a well-known activist in rural China. |
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麻煩始於一張張貼在網路上的駭人照片。照片裡可以見到一名沒有生命跡象的男子卡在一輛卡車的大輪子底下一動也不動。警方說這是一場單純的車禍，但如果被害者是中國鄉下一位知名的社運人士，事情可就一點也不單純了。 |
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The details surrounding the death 53-year-old Qian Yunhui last Saturday in a small town in eastern China are clouded with conflicting and often changing stories from eyewitnesses and local officials. |
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五十三歲的錢雲會在上週六於中國東部一座小鎮身亡，相關細節目前仍不清楚，目擊證人與地方官員的說詞互相矛盾且也一變再變。 |
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The government first said Qian was killed when he was accidentally struck by a truck while walking along a roadside, and authorities detained the truck driver. |
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However as graphic images from the scene in Yueqing city were posted on a popular Chinese online forum Sunday, some viewer comments suggested he was murdered by local officials for advocating villagers' rights in a land dispute. |
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As the story details quickly spread online, the mainstream Chinese news media picked up the story. |
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政府原本指稱錢雲會是走在路旁而意外遭到卡車撞擊，有關當局拘留了卡車司機。不過，樂清市事故現場血淋淋的照片在週日被發布在中國一個熱門網路論壇，有些網友即在評論中指出，他可能是因為在土地爭議中聲援村民權益而遭到地方官員謀害。隨著事故來龍去脈在網路上迅速散播開來，中國主流新聞媒體也報導了這則新聞。 |
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Two eyewitnesses were quoted in early reports saying Qian was held down to the ground by three masked men while a heavy truck slowly drove over his neck. |
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The Southern Daily newspaper quoted one witness who added that police had detained another witness. |
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初期的報導引述兩名目擊證人的證詞，指稱錢雲會遭到三個頭戴面罩的男子押在地上，由一輛重型卡車緩緩輾過他的頸部。《南方日報》則引述一名目擊證人的說法，指稱警方拘留了另一名證人。 |
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The story of Qian's struggle against the powerful officials and developers struck a chord with the general public. |
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In 2004 when the Yueqing government approved the construction of a power plant in Qian's village, the farmers were tricked into signing their land away for free, according to a report in the 21st Century Economic Herald newspaper. |
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Qian, at the time the village chief, led his fellow villagers in a protest to demand proper compensation. |
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Arrested and twice sentenced to prison, he continued the fight after his release. |
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Qian even traveled to Beijing to petition the central government, according to the Herald report. |
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錢雲會挺身對抗權大勢大的官員與開發商，這樣的故事引起了大眾共鳴。《21 世紀經濟導報》的一篇報導指出，樂清市政府於二００四年核准准在錢雲會居住的村莊興建一座發電廠，結果農民遭到誘騙簽字同意無償讓出自己的土地。當時身為村長的錢雲會率領村民提出抗議，要求合理補償。雖然他遭到逮捕且兩度獲判入獄，出獄後仍持續抗爭。《導報》指出，錢雲會甚至還長途跋涉前往北京向中央政府請願。 |
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Amid rising national outrage over the alleged murder of a local hero, authorities hastily launched a criminal investigation Tuesday. |
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In a late-night press conference just a day later, officials reiterated that Qian was a victim of a traffic accident, not a murder, blaming an inexperienced and unlicensed driver. |
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Even Qian did not escape receiving some blame for not being careful when crossing the road. |
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這位地方英雄可能遭到謀害的事件在全國引起的憤怒聲浪愈趨高漲，官方於是急忙在週二展開犯罪偵查。隔天一場深夜記者會上，官員重申錢雲會身亡是交通事故而非謀殺案件，並且將過錯歸咎於一名缺乏經驗而且無照駕駛的司機，甚至沒放過錢雲會，指責他穿越馬路不小心。 |
