trials for the cctv building fire have begun

My first thought when I saw this building sticking out in Beijing's downtown skyline was what a cool building. I rode my bike over to get a closer look and realized that this was the infamous CCTV headquarters building-- the one that caught fire during the 2009 Chinese New Year firework celebration. Its local nickname in Chinese is "the underwear" because it kind of looks like a pair of briefs. People also have a lot of bad feeling towards it as well and not least of which because it is a 5 billion yuan construction site funded with government money. CCTV is the government-owned Chinese television network that consistently churns out bad TV and propaganda. Some overzealous CCTV executives decided last year that they would set off an unauthorized fireworks show directly next to the building. This caught the nearby newly-finished Mandarin Oriental hotel ablaze. A year later and the hotel is still standing (see below). It's an eye sore for sure. I've heard all kinds of rumors as to why they don't just tear it down and the one that makes the most sense to me is that it is structurally connected to the nearby CCTV tower and that they're just planning on restoring the outside of the hotel for aesthetic reasons. I live just down the street and have noticed that the CCTV tower is still not in use and that construction has begun on adding a glass shell over the outside of the blackened hotel. 

 A Chinese friend of mine who works at a Beijing law firm told me that she and the lawyers there tried to get in contact with the CCTV executives as soon as the fire started to help them make their case, but even before the fire had been put out that night, all the CCTV officials involved had been rounded up and thrown in jail. Soon after, CCTV and the Chinese propaganda ministry banned reporters from reporting on the fire unless they used the official line from the China News Agency. A year later, trials have just begun for the 23 accused (read more here on China Daily).

For more on how crazy Chinese New Year fireworks can get, watch our 2010 Chinese New Year fireworks video. 

Comments

[CC]

Wow. You have to be getting even more of an appreciation for the usa.

[Mary Jo Curtis]

To think this was done by their own people. Look like they would have wanted to save these beautiful structures. Rocky Mound girl