Explosive words and deeds(2)

Divided reaction

While some Web users have been quick to condemn Wu's actions, others have pointed out that Wu is far from alone in making violent threats online. The list includes famous scholars who said that they would kill their critics. Not to mention the celebrity qigong"master" Wang Lin, who threatened to kill enemies by pointing in the air.

"Compared to Wu, these people's words were more cruel and aggressive, but they haven't received any punishment," one Web user said.

However, experts have rejected these comparisons. "They are totally different," Han said. "Wu said the specific object she wants to blow up and the way she wants to do it, but what these people expressed were curses and complaints. Wu's behavior can more easily cause a public panic."

This is not the first time these kinds of threats have resulted in arrests.

In one example, a 20-year-old man in Luonan county, Shaanxi Province, was detained for seven days in July after claiming online that he would go to Beijing to blow up a company. He also uploaded a picture of his train ticket online.

"Freedom of speech doesn't mean people can say whatever they like. We must all pay the price for our words," Lin Zhe, an anti-corruption expert with the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, told the Global Times on Monday. "This is controlled by law in any society. A key premise of free speech is that one can't hurt the public interest or other's rights."

Some Web users, however, have speculated that politics was involved in her arrest. They cited a list of names created by extreme leftists who claimed they would bury all the people on the list alive. Although Wu is not on the list, the fact that she was detained, but none of the leftists were, enraged these Web users.

Widespread panic?

"If Wu had made the comment at a different time, it wouldn't have been noticed, but she wrote it at a time when many tragedies have happened," said Zhang Qianfan, a law professor with Peking University.

According to The Beijing News, between July 17 and July 24, six "incidents threatening social safety" occurred in Beijing. Similar incidents have occurred nationwide.

On Thursday, three days after Wu was detained, the Ministry of Public Securityreleased a report on its website, saying it will crack down on terrorist activities as well as extreme crimes by individuals, to ensure social stability. People who claim they will conduct extreme activities such as lighting fires or setting off explosions, or who fabricate and spread fake terror information to disrupt social order will be punished according to the law, said the ministry.

"In this context, Wu's case received excessive attention from the public and the authorities," Zhang said. "Her punishment is too heavy. It's better to give her a warning."

Zhang said that there has been no sign indicating the case caused a public panic, disrupted social order or threatened social security, nor any evidence that she had made specific plans to blow up the agencies.