Born in a poor family in Gansu, Wang Binyu went to work at a factory in the neighbouring Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. These two regions are in a dry climate that is in the thinly-populated interior of China, sometimes referred to as "China's Wild West", though geographically they are north-central.
Wang Binyu needed money to pay for an operation for his father; both education and medical care are currently charged for in China. He was working for a subcontractor, who withheld some money and claimed some was owed as expenses. While trying to force the subcontractor to pay him, Wang got into a fight with some co-workers and killed four people. Despite this, his case has attracted some sympathy within China.
In a jailhouse, Mr. Wang said that he wanted to die so that he could no longer be exploited, and expressed remorse for his murders.[1] Wang hoped that the party and the country would value migrant laborers.[2] He was executed in October 2005, aged 28.
