Hawker's widow vows to keep up fight
Wife of executed Shenyang street vendor will press case that he killed officers in self-defence
The grieving widow of a street hawker executed last week for killing two urban management officers said she would continue to seek justice for her husband after his funeral in Shenyang, Liaoning province.
More than 100 people, many of them sympathetic internet users, attended the funeral yesterday to support her and the son of hawker Xia Junfeng, whose execution has sparked grief and anger across the nation.
The two held Xia's ashes and his photograph as they made their way to a suburban cemetery. Family members and supporters followed.
"I didn't expect there to be so many people this morning. I didn't get to talk to each of them," Xia's widow Zhang Jing said. "I'm very touched that they came. I'm very sad and tired from all that has happened.
"Many of them came over and showed their support for me and Xia Junfeng," she said, adding she would continue her husband's fight. "I will spend a few quiet days with my son at my home to come to terms with this, but I won't stop pursuing justice."
In May 2009, Xia and his wife were selling roasted sausages in Shenyang when officers seized him, took him to their office and beat him. Xia took out a knife and killed two officers and wounded a third. He was convicted of intentional homicide and sentenced to death in November 2009.