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At Reading in Beijing, Noted Writer Is Stabbed
BEIJING — A prominent Chinese writer known for provocative, antiestablishment Web postings was stabbed and wounded during a book reading on Saturday.
The writer, Xu Lai, a newspaper reporter, novelist and blogger whose satirical Internet postings are widely followed by students, journalists and the Chinese literati, may have been singled out for his writings, his friends and associates said.
Mr. Xu was accosted in a restroom by two men who stabbed him in the stomach and then threatened to cut off his hand before fleeing, according to the friends and fellow bloggers who posted the news on the Internet.
Xiao Sanlang, who edits Mr. Xu’s articles at The Beijing News, said the men had announced that they were “here to take revenge.” He said Mr. Xu remained in the hospital on Sunday, but his wounds were not life-threatening. “We still don’t know why it happened,” he said.
In a country where violence against journalists is rare, the bold assault stirred fears and a flurry of rumors. Some people suggested the attack may have stemmed from Mr. Xu’s writings, many of which take swipes at government corruption or poke fun at the ruling Communist Party. In recent weeks, Mr. Xu’s blog has included items on censorship, the melamine milk scandal and the fire that destroyed part of the new CCTV complex in Beijing last week.
In China, writers are given far more latitude for Web postings than for their work in newspapers and magazines. Still, there are limits to Internet expression.
Mr. Xu’s blog, ProState in Flames, was carried by Bullog, a liberal Web site, until the government shut down Bullog last month. His writings can still be found elsewhere on the Internet, although individual postings and links are sometimes deleted by censors.
Word of the attack quickly spread by text message and the Twitter messaging service, and several newspapers and Web sites carried the news on Sunday.
In scores of posted comments, people expressed worry that the attack reflected a growing intolerance of dissent. Others blamed the undercurrent of Chinese nationalism that bubbles to the surface from time to time. “This kind of ‘battle without gunpowder’ will probably become more severe as time goes on,” said a blogger called Rainforest.
In the comments area of Mr. Xu’s blog, one reader expressed a defiance that was reflected in many postings: “Comrades, netizens, such a despicable trick cannot stop the progress of Chinese people towards freedom and democracy, because this is the tide of history.”
After Mr. Xu’s stabbing, several audience members chased his attackers into the street, snapping pictures with their cellphones as they ran, but the two men escaped.
The police said they were investigating the attack, according to newspaper accounts. On Monday the police said they had no immediate comment.
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