Rumor: Peking University graduate with failed start-up initiative killed local Communication Bureau official
Refuted: 100% fabricared
Rumor power: 2/5
Original weibo post: 6389 retweets
On April 2, 2012, a Weibo post emerged about a tragic story where a recent Peking University graduate Mr.Wang went back to his hometown after failing to land a job in Beijing. He then started a children education website. But local Communication Bureau shut down his website, saying that education related websites required permits. Wang then filed 3 applications at the Bureau, which were all rejected. However, he was told that if he was willing to pay a 1000 permit-approval fee, he would get what he wanted. Instead of paying the fee, Wang took a knife and stabbed an official responsible for approving permits at the local Communication Bureau to death. To add more color to the story, Wang’s last words when he turned himself in were. “I have no regret for they took away my right to make a living independently.”
The story was then found to be in existence since 2009 and 100% fabricated. However, it depicts a tragic underdog-standing-against-corrupted government story that many Chinese find easy to relate to.
