Microblog helps Chinese girl regain father's wages

After a debtor had paid most of what was owed to her family, 12-year-old Lin Haoru finally felt a bit relieved.

But they would not have received the cash, 1.1 million yuan (about 175,890 U.S. dollars), if it was not for the 12-year-old writing a microblog, telling of her family's woes in the last four years.

In 2007, the girl's father, a construction contractor in Guangdong, borrowed 1.2 million yuan to pay for the costs of building materials in advance. He was carrying out a project with dozens of his workers in Nanning, capital of neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

But the developer of the project refused to pay back the money. Her father, Lin Weixiong, negotiated with the developer but all efforts failed. He was even beaten when he asked for payment. Lin sold his house to pay his workers, but the money was far from enough.

To avoid his workers and other creditors who demanded wages and payment of loans, Lin fled his temporary residence in Nanning. But the daughter and mother never gave up asking for the money.

The daughter released her first microblog, Chinese twitter-like service, nearly two months ago while she was being treated in a hospital for anemia. Her wardmate suggested she could try the microblog to solve her family's trouble.

On August, 25, Lin, with the username "Girl asking for wages", wrote her first microblog on the popular portal Sina.com website. She told of her family's trouble. The microblog quickly drew the attention of netizens and the media.

Three days after the microblog was released, the construction administration authorities of Nanning contacted Lin's mother, surnamed Cheng and told her they would solve the problem as quickly as possible.

"This is the happiest day over the past four years," said Cheng. The family could not sleep all night after hearing the news.

On Sept. 24, Lin's family received 1.1 million yuan (about 175,890 U.S. dollars) from a real estate developer.

In the case of Lin, the developer still owes 330,000 yuan after paying him 1.1 million. Local authorities said they were working on the remaining debt.

"I did not expect such great progress after my daughter's blog," said Cheng, who had some worries about using the Internet to draw people's attention to their difficulties.

"I was worrying that she's too young to understand the truth, and may have said something inappropriate on the web," Chen said.,

"I really miss my Dad a lot," said Lin. Her father is away working. But Lin said she would telephone him and hoped for an early reunion.

Lin's case is only one of many examples that shows the amazing power of the microblogging service in China, which has more than 270 million users at the end of June.

Ranging from appealing for help to needy citizens to exposure of corrupt officials and criticizing dishonorable practices, China's microbloggers are influencing China's economic and social life.

The latest example is the investigation of a government official in south China's Guangzhou City. Netizens reported that there were 21 homes under the names of Cai Bin, his wife and their son. Disciplinary authorities then launched an investigation and suspended Cai from duty last week.