Qian Liexian


Qian Liexian is the pen name of Xu Lai, a Chinese journalist and internet blogger. He is Culture Editor for the daily paper The Beijing News. He was stabbed on February 14, 2009 while speaking at a bookshop in Beijing.

Blogger career

Qian is famous for his biting and often sarcastic style in commenting on social and political issues. He is an editor at the popular Beijing News daily and his book Fanciful Animals was published last November 2008. He is also known for his blog "Pro-State in Flames", published on bullog.cn. The blog name "Pro-State in Flames" literally means "Qian Liexian Wants to Speak" but sounds like prostate wants to be inflamed.
Qian Liexian was described as "20 Most Influential Figures in China's Cyberspace" by Southern Metropolis Weekly. He was also a nominee for the best Chinese blog in the 2005 BoB award organized by Deutsche Welle.

Stabbing incident

On Feb 14, 2009, Qian was speaking at the One Way Street bookshop in Beijing. He was answering questions when a fight erupted. His wife said two men forced him into the men's bathroom. She chased after them and found that one was holding a vegetable knife and the other a dagger. The men escaped, leaving Qian on the ground with a cut to his stomach. The two men attempted to cut Qian's hand before fleeing. Xiao Sanlang, who edits Qian's articles at Beijing News Daily, said the men had announced they were taking revenge. Qian was hospitalized after the incident.
The bold assault stirred fears and a flurry of rumors. Some people suggested the attack may have stemmed from Qian’s writings, many of which take swipes at government corruption or poke fun at the ruling Communist Party of China. In recent weeks, Qian’s blog has included items on censorship, the melamine milk scandal and the Beijing Television Cultural Center fire.