I’d hate to be the guy who brings this news in to Grandpa Wen:

A farmer in central China’s Henan province hanged himself Tuesday to protest his treatment by local agriculture officials.

Peng Gonglin, from Dengzhuang Village, Queshan County, was found dead in front of the office of the county seed management station at 6:30 a.m., said He Jiange, deputy chief of the county publicity department.

Peng had been seeking compensation for the losses he suffered after being sold sub-standard rice seeds.

Grandpa Wen has been running around the country making speeches, penning Op/Eds, and drafting policy papers on the income gap, rural incomes, social stability — you know, Harmonious Society stuff. The last thing Beijing needs is local officials screwing up so badly that a guy kills himself in protest.

Granted, this person might have had a lot of other issues (e.g. mental). But none of that really matters when anyone can open up the newspaper and read about a poor farmer who commits suicide after being treated unfairly. It doesn’t really come off so well for the local ag guys.