We’ve had some lively debates here at mid-riffs and in the community at-large about the quality of school buildings. While those debates have often been heated and full of disagreements, we ought to be thankful we live in a place that respects and encourages  a diverse set of viewpoints.

The situation in China is far worse. Chinese activist Huang Qi just received a three-year prison term for blogging about the quality of school buildings (or lack of) in the aftermath of the May 2008 earthquake that killed more than 87,000 people in China.

Of course Qi wasn’t officially charged with “illegally blogging.”  He was charged with “possessing state secrets” and was dealt a prison term in a hearing that lasted ten minutes. His wife said: “They still won’t say what the specific charge is, not even at the verdict. They just spoke of documents related to a certain matter.” She said it was clear the punishment related to his work after the earthquake. “I think it was revenge for the earthquake, and his other work. But the court would not even give me a copy of the verdict,” she said.

The Chinese government is bad, m’kay? You can read more about it here.