Two Henan residents yesterday rejected an apology by a Shenzhen police official published in local newspapers for allegedly discriminating against people from the central Chinese province.

Li Dongzhao and Ren Chengyu filed a discrimination case against Longgang police sub-station after hearing reports of a banner put up in early March offering a 500 yuan (US$60) reward to anyone who could help nab a ‘Henan gang.’

Liu Kuanzhi, director of the police sub-station, was reported yesterday as saying, "The banner targeting Henan-native gangs has hurt people from Henan Province and we sincerely apologize to them."

The condition the plaintiffs have set for settling out of court is for a printed apology to appear in the national media. Li said, "I haven't received any message from Shenzhen so far and a verbal apology is far from enough to make up for the nationwide negative impact brought about by the banner."

After media exposure led to a public outcry, police said they had gone door to door in the district involved, where many people from Henan live, to apologize. They had removed the banner at the end of last month after initial complaints

On April 15, Li and Ren filed a lawsuit from Henan against the sub-station claiming it had violated the principle of equity enshrined in the constitution. They said the police action infringed the rights of Henan people, damaged their reputation and caused mental distress.

Li hoped the lawsuit would prompt legislators to enact a law on regional discrimination since there is no such explicit legislation at present.

Wu Zhouwei, spokesperson for Longgang sub-station, said the banner had been put up by a patrol officer on his own initiative with no sanction from Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, and that the officer has been suspended.

He added that, in the first three months of this year, the community police station caught 17 suspects from five racketeering gangs, all of whom were from Henan. It was unclear whether he thought this justified the banner or not.

Liu Zhongguo, from Shenzhen Cultural Studies Center, said the case reflected widespread discrimination against Henan natives.

Dramatically illustrating such behavior was Wang Lei, a 45-year-old businessperson who moved to Shenzhen from Henan in 1993 but has told few people of her ancestry.

"I am afraid that once I tell them where I am from, they won't conduct business with me any more," said Wang, adding that she had even told her daughter to keep it a secret.

(China Daily April 26, 2005)