"Who do you prepare to speak for, the Party or the ordinary people?" This sentence, uttered recently by Lu Jun, deputy Bureau Director of Zhengzhou Planning Bureau, immediately became buzzwords online. Some netizens believe that this sentence can be listed as one of the "buzzwords of the year 2009"and Lu Jun can be chosen as "the worst failure of a deputy bureau director in 2009."Others nominated Lu as "the worst deputy bureau director in history."While these jibes were being posted online, his resume was searched out by eager netizens.

President Hu Jintao(L) and Lu Jun (R), deputy Bureau Director of Zhengzhou Planning Bureau

Netizens soon found a striking similarity in Lu’s official government photo between Lu and President Hu Jintao. Not only is the hair style similar, but the jacket and tie worn by both officials is so similar that many are starting to suspect that photo has been edited in Photoshop, placing Lu’s head atop the body of President Hu.

Netizens: The popularity of Lu’s words exceeding "hide and seek"and "push-up"
"Who do you prepare to speak for, the Party or the ordinary people?"Once this sentence was reported, it brought about an uproar online. Netizens competed with each other to repost Lu’s words first. In only one day, the search volume of this sentence in Google and Baidu amounted to more than 1 billion searches, making it more popular than the previous government scandal-related buzzwords "hide and seek"and "push-up."

Screenshot of a webpage showing Lu Jun’s resume

"Words are the voice of the mind. Even if it is only a slip of tongue, it also reflects the ‘mind of authority’ of Lu, which is terrible,"said one netizen. Totally pitting the interests of the Party against those of ordinary people is an obvious violation of the purpose of the Party and the ideals of "exercising the state power in the interest of the people"and "power is for the people".

Besides condemning Lu in both speech and writing, many netizens also initiated human-flesh searches, uploading his resume and standard photo online and suggesting him to the local discipline inspection commission and supervisory departments for investigation.

Planning Bureau: Obsessing about Lu’s words is "deviant"
Yesterday afternoon, a reporter called Zhengzhou Planning Bureau to inquire about the illegal buildings and Lu Jun’s words. When questioned about the development, and the words of Lu Jun himself and the Planning Bureau, an unidentified source at the press center of the bureau said there was no response at present and whether there would be a response later can’t be said at this time.

When the reporter pursued the question and asked in which situations there would be responses, the press bureau employee gave the phone to a superintendent surnamed Wu. When the reporter restated his interview inquiry, Wu said, "If you keep rehashing his words that is deviant. Can you believe matters online? We are still not sure whether he has said that or not".

Wu also stated that the Planning Bureau put emphasis on investigating the issue that land for building economically affordable housing was used to construct villas, but they would not receive telephone interviews on the subject.

Expert: Some officials only consider personal gain
Lu Jun’s words not only arouse netizens’ interrogations, but also bring about experts’ discussions.

Yesterday afternoon, Fudan University sociology professor Yu Hai, when being interviewed by a reporter from the Morning Newspaper, stated that the problem of "speaking for who"seemed hilarious, but faithfully reflected that some officials only considered departmental or even personal gains. "In their hearts, the interests of the Party are just the gains of their departments, which sometimes have conflicts with the interests of ordinary people. Protection of interests of ordinary people will endanger their departments or personal gains. It is only in such understandings that the interests of the Party and interests of the ordinary people are in opposition".

Playback of the event
In a construction site specially designated for the building of affordable housing in Xigang Village, Xushui Town, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, real estate developers have built 12 townhouses and 2 two-story buildings.

After receiving a complaint from local villager Mr. Song, a reporter from China Radio International went to Zhengzhou for an on-the-spot investigation and interview. Most local departments heed the complaints of villagers however, according to the reporter, only the Zhengzhou Planning Bureau has such an indifferent attitude.

The reporter went to the Zhengzhou Planning Bureau for an interview on the open day of petitions and appeals. In the office of Lu Jun, the deputy Bureau Director of Zhengzhou Planning Bureau who was responsible for petitions and appeals, the reporter showed Lu the paper listing the complaints and appeals. Upon seeing the name of Mr. Song on the paper, Lu Jun asked to check the interviewing equipment of the reporter and pulled out the mic on the recorder.

When the reporter asked him to explain the paper, Lu Jun, unexpectedly interrogated the reporter, "Who do you speak for, the Party or the ordinary people"? The reporter asked Lu Jun to further explain this sentence, but Lu Jun immediately steered the topic away and commented on the paper stamped with special seal of petitions and appeals of Zhengzhou Planning Bureau, asking the Division of Complaints and Appeal to handle it.

Full story: The Party or the People? Investigated Official Challenges Reporter

Read the original in Chinese here

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