Shishou, Hubei.

The death of a chef triggered a mass protest that finally brought over ten thousand armed police into the town for crackdown. The dead’s families along with thousands of people resisted the police and protected the corpse, because they know once the body was taken away, the death would be identified as a suicide and the truth will be lost forever.

Rumor said that the chef, named Tu Yuangao (涂远高），was killed because he threatened to expose the drug dealings in the hotel after he failed to get his pay. Now, as more injectors were found inside the burned hotel, Shishou people’s suspicion grows. It seems to confirm the rumor that Yong Long hotel has long been used as a den for drug dealers protected by local officials.

A newspaper said

当地还有人士称，事发酒店有公安人员入股。坊间流传最多的是，永隆酒店分别是由三个部门的副职负责人入股，其中有公安局，工商局，还有电力局的负责人。但记者未能证实该消息的真伪。

According to the local people, there are officials in the Public Security bureau holding a stake in the hotel. The most widely accepted version is that the stake holders are deputies of three departments, including public security, industry and commerce, and electricity. But the reporter couldn’t prove it.

The update was reported by a domestic newspaper, which is the first time that Chinese public media gave so complete a coverage, though it still mentioned nothing about the crackdown.

The reporter also said:

21日晚上11时许，本报记者在出事酒店背面的沙堆上发现一些使用过的注射器以及其包装纸。这些注射器的外形与通常医院做皮试的注射器无异。 22日，记者再次探访酒店时，这些注射器依然未做清理。此时，一些围观的群众也对此进行议论，有几个小孩正拿着手机拍摄，一名家住附近的中年女子认为，“这些都是酒店内部吸毒品所用的工具。” 在场的几名市民都对此表示同感，在他们看来，附近没有医院，不可能是医院把这些注射器丢弃在这里，

On 21, I have found some used injectors and wrappers on the dunes at the back of the hotel. They were the same as those seen in hospital.

On 22, when I revisited the hotel the injectors remained there. People standing by were talking about it, and some kids were filming with their cell phones. A woman said, ‘these are all devices for drug abuse.’ Several people around agreed. In their view, there is no hospital around the hotel so it can’t be medical waste.

Moreover, on 22 June, it was said that people were stunned to find 6 more (3 by some source) corpses in the sewage within the hotel, only with bones left. Hearing the news, a few thousands of people gathered again outside the hotel after tens of thousand people were dispelled last night by armed police.

The updates first appeared on twitter:

ChangshaNotes: RT @yuzhiquan: 石首新情况：隆酒店周围又围上了四五千人。永隆酒店又发现三具尸体！（消息来源以为当地的网友，前2天提供了不少实时信息，可信度还不错）现在只能半信半疑。 #石首#shishou#

Latest update in Shishou: some 4, 5 thousand people gathered again outside Yong Long hotel. Three more corpse were found! (It is told by a local netizen who provided us with valuable information in these two days. So it could be trustworthy).

It soon turned into two versions:

First, someone saw two corpses in the sewage, and they were later dragged out.

Second, a skeleton was seen inside the hotel.

It was publicly denied by local TV station. The government asked people not to be instigated by a small group of agitators, but revealed no details about the latest development and has given no explanation.

On 21, more than ten thousand armed police have reached the corpse and dispelled the crowd. The corpse was taken away for autopsy and the result will be revealed in 20 days. The dead’s families were asked to go talking with the local officials for an agreement of cremation as soon as possible. It was said that some of his families have agreed.

Another disputable issue is the dead’s last words written on a payment note.

The ‘testament’, which was a crucial evidence for the police to identify the death as suicide, states:

亲爱的爸爸妈妈：儿子在这里对你们说声不孝了，我也不知道我是怎么了好像有个阴影一直缠着我不放，可能这是我的命吧，我存的那点钱您们拿出用，就当是我对 您二老的一点小小补偿吧，儿子欠您们养育之恩再能来世再报了。还有哥，我们只能来世做兄弟了，爸爸妈妈就交给你们了，请原谅弟弟这样不辞而别。希望你好好 把事业做大。好了就这样吧。不孝儿子。。叩头。

Dear Dad and Mom,

I am not a good son. I don’t know why there is always a shadow with me. Perhaps that’s my fate. My little savings will be for your use, as a kind of compensation. I can only pay back your love and kindness in my afterlife. And my dear brother, let’s be brothers again in our afterlife. Please take care of our parents. Please forgive my untold departure. Hope your business will go well. All right, that’s what I want to say. Your bad son… Kowtow.

But the testament was doubted to be faked. Blogger Chai Jing（十年砍柴）questioned that a man who has not even finished grade school has no way to write such a testament.

短短两百来字的遗书，不但字迹流利顺畅，且行文层次分明，逻辑谨严。有如一 件衙门公文，起承转合皆有。一个准文盲，快要自杀前还如此从容写出这样高水准的遗书？

In 200 short words, the handwriting is good and the structure is clear with good logic. How could a man who is almost illiterate write out so well-written last words?

But some of his families agreed that it was indeed his handwriting, though they suggested he might be forced to write down the note.

The battle and resistance has gone far beyond the Shishou town. The Chinese internet has been put in blackout. On Fnafou, the ‘Chinese twitter’, if you search for Shishou there returns no result. But the authority cannot take control of everything. The official website of Shishou government has been hacked soon after the crackdown, and the hackers even put up a bulletin board on the webpage that everyone can leave a comment there. The page has been screenshot.

According to the latest update, the twon has been quite again. But how long will it last is yet unknown.