To 'watch' or not to watch

By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-24 07:38

The persistence of Internet users to pursue officials wearing "expensive" watches, after they brought a Nanjing real estate official - spotted with a 100,000-yuan ($14,600) wristwatch - under the scanner, is generating mixed reactions from researchers as well as the general public.

An Internet user who goes by the pseudo name "I only drink wine for drinks" posted a blog on the People's Daily website showing photographs of 15 county Party secretaries sporting watches that he thought were too expensive for any of them to afford given their salaries, the Chengdu Commercial Daily reported yesterday.

The names and titles of the 15 officials were mentioned in the post, but only three of the officials' watches were "recognizable".

The three "luxurious" watches worn by the officials were Tudor, Rolex and Vacheron Constantin, the prices of which range from anywhere between 25,000 yuan to 520,000 yuan.

The post was soon quoted by websites and newspapers, and aroused a heated debate among netizens.

Last week, Zhou Jiugeng, a real estate management official in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, was spotted in an online photograph wearing a 100,000-yuan Vacheron Constantin Swiss watch, with a pack of Nanjing 95 Imperial cigarettes, which costs 150 yuan, kept before him.

After Internet users who recognized the high-end cigarette packet and watch reacted and filed complaints with related departments, the local government launched an investigation into Zhou's financial assets.

But public opinion on the issue stands divided.

There are several who doubt the authenticity of an online post.

One of the 15 officials, accused in the blog for wearing a watch "too expensive", yesterday cleared the air when he told a local newspaper that his alleged "Rolex" was actually a "Swiss-made Titoni, bought in 2004 for 2,000 yuan".

The official would protect his rights according to law, a statement from the county's Party organization said in an online statement.

Zhang Xinbao, a professor in civil law at Renmin University of China, said the blog post writer could be charged for spreading false information and infringing people's right of fame if it is proved that the accused officials were not sporting expensive watches.

"Cyber-hunt is a two-edged sword. It can help fight corruption, but can also infringe on people's rights," he said.

(China Daily 12/24/2008 page4)