[Excerpt translation from Chinese to English provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"Journalist receives threatening phone call after reporting on illegal mining; three people arrested by police", 14 Sep 2019

…A TV program produced by Shandong Televisio reported the problems of illegal disposal of tailings and the disclosure of complainant’s personal information by the staff at the emergency unit in the south of Bao Luo Village, Tian Zhuang Town, Pingdu City...

A journalist discovered an operating excavator at a mine pit in the south of Bao Lao Village, Tian Zhuang Town, Pingdu City, Qingdao. Experts said that outdoor mining activities could be regarded as illegal discharge, as tailings disposed in the outdoor pit are not handled through pipelines, causing certain damages to the main dam.

The journalist then reported the incident to the Office of Safety Regulations...The reply was that no operations were found at that mining pit…about 10 minutes later, the journalist received a mysterious phone call…

In the TV program, Li Fu Cheng, Mayor of the Pingdu City, said in response, “It is possible that our officials collaborated with the people involved in illegal mining activities and are suspected to be threatening the complainant,”…

… The Department of Emergency Management in Shandong sent a supervisory group for an onsite inspection regarding the reported issues. The identities of the corporate factory owner who is suspected of threatening the journalist and the staff at the emergency unit alleged of information disclosure have been confirmed. They are, respectively, the General Manager of Qingdao Zhengrunlai Construction Materials Company and an officer at the emergency unit in Tian Zhuang Town.

… three people are arrested by the police, which has started investigations into the incidents with the Commission for Discipline Inspection.