Pyramid schemes tip of the cy-berg
- Source: The Global Times
- [08:05 May 21 2009]
- Comments
Powerless PSB
At first, the public security department and local government in Panjin declined the anxious parents’ rescue demand by saying they were “unable to provide any help,” according to Li, who then turned to the Internet, posting an online SOS on a popular forum at bbs.people.com.cn on May 12.
One day later, Chen Wen, an APSO official, replied to the message in the same forum, saying he had already notified the Panjin mayor of her niece’s case and ordered relevant governments deal with it promptly. He also left his contact details online.
“My daily task is to monitor the pyramid-scheme situation in 14 counties in the province. With the help of the search engines, I noticed that post on the People’s Daily’s website (on May 12),” Chen told the Global Times.
After reading about the case and informing relevant departments and the city mayor, Chen claimed he would suggest voting against the promotion of Panjin officials if they failed to resolve the problem.
Shen Ning, an administrator of the online forum, said the current-affairs forum is becoming a platform for ordinary people to report and complain about social problems due to its popularity and accessibility.
“About 10,000 to 20,000 posts are placed on our website every day, and quite a few of them are reporting people’s grievances and problems,” Shen said. “The number of posts has especially increased since President Hu Jintao paid a visit to our office in June.”
Shen said that, after learning of people’s reports on their forum, they would inform the relevant government departments of the problems.
Li Qin said, “Sometimes, our personal strength is not sufficient to solve pressing problems. Thanks to the online forum, my niece had a safe return home.”
Last year, law enforcement agencies cracked more than 2,500 pyramid-scheme cases and 941 people were prosecuted. The schemes involved more than 400,000 people, Xinhua reported.
Pyramid-scheme sales were banned in China in 1998.