Singer Wu Hongfei, out of detention over joke bomb threat, but not out of trouble
A Beijing singer who admits she was foolish to post a 'bomb threat' apologised, but still finds it hard to get gigs and has nowhere to live
Singer Wu Hongfei, who was detained for 11 days last month for posting an apparent bomb threat on her microblog account, paid a high price for speaking recklessly online. Wu, the vocalist of an independent rock band, posted "I want to bomb the neighbourhood committee of Beijing Job Centre and the f***ing housing authority" one day after an explosion at Beijing airport on July 20 set off by former motorbike driver Ji Zhongxing , who claimed that a 2005 beating left him paralysed. Wu subsequently changed her angry rhetoric, calling her post about bomb threats "inappropriate" and the actions of the police "understandable". She cannot forget her days in detention, but says her mind is still focused on music.
I thought it was no big deal when the police told me I was being detained for posing a threat to public order and safety. I didn't know what criminal detention was and thought I'd be released in a couple of days. I asked whether I could bring books and I wanted to bring a Bible. The police said yes, but in the end I was not allowed to do so.
When the police said I might get a sentence of up to five years. I broke down in tears. A woman police officer told me: "Stop crying. It's not the death sentence." Then I felt even worse and cried harder. I just didn't understand. I'd been working hard and writing about the less privileged. I'd devoted a whole year to promoting the authentic music of the Dong ethnic minority, and given the money from the ticket sales to their singers. I'd never done anyone any harm. How come I was under criminal detention?