Blood on the hands at a bleeding steel mill

On July 24, Chen rose early and went to Tonggang with several colleagues. His mission was to communicate with mill workers about the restructuring plan. Talks held over the previous two days had gone nowhere.

As Chen arrived, he was greeted by a banner hung by a retired worker in front of the Tonggang office building. It said, "Jianlong, Get Out of Tonggang."

Chen started a morning meeting mid-level managers and workers. Meanwhile, Tonghua workers started blocking a railway to prevent supplies from reaching the mill, forcing the company to suspend production for several hours.

Around noon, the man who hung the banner quarreled with others who wanted it down. The tension spread to other protesters, who started moving toward the building where Chen was holding meetings.

Throughout the day, some people were handing out ice-cream, cigarettes and bottled mineral water to protesters, and the factory's cafeteria was open for lunch, without charge.

An initial investigation revealed that the attack came in two stages. The first occurred at about 11 a.m., after which Chen left the scene under protection of security staff. He hid in an office building at the coke plant, and the security staff locked him behind two iron doors. But more than 200 people attacked the building. At 4:38 p.m., sources said, someone found Chen hiding in the office and the doors were forced open.

According to a report filed by a Jilin official at the scene, the attackers included "people who were not former or current Tonggang workers." Some witnesses told Caijing that many people who did not wear company uniforms were among the rioters attacking Chen. They may have been tied to the area's "gray business" iron and steel operations.

Police were informed that Chen was in danger, but they were unable to rescue him. Rioters blocked police, ambulances and government officials who tried to reach the victim.

Inside the office building, according to a source, someone cried out, "Chen must die." And between 6 and 7 p.m., the deed was done. An autopsy determined that he suffered a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage.

Chen's body was cremated seven days after his death. A funeral was held in his hometown in Hebei, attended by about 200 mourners including his widow and their twins, a daughter and son.