中国“房姐”案刺激公众神经

　　The case against Gong Aiai, better known by her public nickname “house sister”, garnered widespread online opprobrium in a country where property prices in large city centres are far beyond the reach of most people. Ms Gong, a 49 year-old former vice-president of a small rural bank in Shanxi province, used fake IDs while purchasing flats and shops in the capital worth Rmb395m.

　　The past month has been a busy period for China’s prosecutors, who are training their sights on the “tigers and flies”, or high and low-ranking officials, whom president Xi Jinping has promised to bring to justice as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign.

　　On September 22, a court in eastern Shandong province convicted Bo Xilai, a former member of the Chinese Communist party’s politburo, to life in prison for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

　　The August trial of Bo, whose wife had previously been found guilty of murdering a British businessman, was streamed live on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, regaling the public with details of the Bo family’s luxurious and often bizarre lifestyle.

　　Trials involving lesser figures from the country’s elite have also riveted the public, such as last week’s conviction for rape of the teenage son of a popular singer. Li Tianyi, whose father is a well known entertainer for the People’s Liberation Army, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the sexual assault. The younger Li, 17, was already infamous for his involvement in a road-rage incident two years ago in which he attacked a couple and dared bystanders to call the police.

　　Gong, who paid Rmb300,000 for the IDs used by her and her daughter, faced a maximum prison term of 10 years but prosecutors recommended a sentence of just two and a half to three years. Many online commentators and state media outlets have questioned the source of Gong’s funds, which she maintained had been earned legally in Shanxi’s booming coal industry or borrowed from friends.

　　On its website, China’s official Xinhua news agency published pictures of Gong, wearing a fluorescent orange prison vest and flanked by two policewomen, as her sentence was read out by the Jingbian County People’s Court.

　　While the value of Ms Gong’s assets highlight the growing gap between rich and poor in China, her ability to secure multiple IDs (hukous) also struck a nerve in a country where such residential permits are routinely denied to migrant worker families. Without them, these families cannot qualify for subsidised healthcare or secure local school places for their children.

　　Calls for hukou reform are growing ahead of the party’s annual assembly in November despite opposition from local governments, which argue that they cannot afford to extend welfare benefits to migrant families.

　　中国一名前银行官员因使用伪造证件在北京累计购买40多套房产，周日被判处三年监禁。这是最新一起受到高度关注的判决。与此前多起案件的被告相似，这名前官员的财富和特权也激起公众的愤怒。

　　龚爱爱一案——她的绰号“房姐”知名度更高——在网络上引发了各种批评，因为中国大城市中心地段的房价远远超出了大多数人的承受能力。现年49岁的龚爱爱曾是陕西省一家小型农村银行副行长，使用假身份证在北京购买了总价值超过人民币3.95亿元的公寓和商铺。

　　中国检方近一个月来颇为忙碌，忙着瞄准“老虎和苍蝇”——分别用来指代高级别和低级别的腐败官员。中国国家主席习近平开展了一起大范围反腐运动，承诺要坚决查处领导干部违纪违法案件。

　　9月22日，山东省一家法庭对薄熙来一案宣判，判决他犯有受贿、贪污、滥用职权罪，处以无期徒刑。薄熙来此前是中国共产党中央政治局委员。

　　对薄熙来案的审判始于8月，相关过程在中国类似推特(Twitter)的社交媒体微博上进行了连续直播，薄家奢华而奇特的生活方式细节则成为了大众饭后谈资。薄熙来之妻此前已因谋杀一名英国商人被判有罪。

　　对于中国精英阶层中相对次要的人物的审判，同样吸引了公众关注。例如，中国人民解放军中一位知名歌手的未成年儿子上周因强奸罪被判处10年监禁。现年17岁的李天一两年前就因卷入一起打人事件而声名狼藉，当时他殴打了一对夫妇，并对围观群众叫嚣谁敢报警。

　　龚爱爱为她和她女儿所使用的假身份证支付了人民币30万元，她所面临的最高刑期可达10年，但检方仅建议判处两年半至三年监禁。很多网络评论员以及官方媒体对龚爱爱的资金来源提出了质疑。她坚称房款来自她从煤炭业挣得的合法收入，或者来自朋友借款。

　　中国官方的新华社在其网站上登出了龚爱爱的照片，她身穿一件亮橙色的犯人背心，站在两名女警中间，听取靖边县人民法庭宣读对她的判决。

　　龚爱爱的资产规模凸显出了中国富人阶层与低收入阶层之间的鸿沟，她办理多个身份证(户口)的能力同样刺激了民众的神经。在中国，农民工家庭通常无法在他们工作的城市取得这种居住许可证。而没有它们，这些家庭就不具备申请医保的资格，也无法让自己的孩子就读当地学校。

　　在11月中共十八届三中全会临近之际，户口改革呼声日益高涨，但遭到了地方政府的反对。地方政府指出，地方财政担负不起将社会福利的覆盖面拓展至农民工家庭的成本。