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Wukan, a Chinese Village, Erupts in Unrest Over Activists’ Arrests
Video A riot broke out in Wukan, in southern China, on Tuesday. Footage shows police in riot gear using tear gas against dozens of people protesting over earlier raids that led to the arrests of local activists.
By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ
September 13, 2016
BEIJING — A riot broke out in the southern Chinese village of Wukan on Tuesday as dozens of people, many of them waving flags and hurling stones, protested early morning raids that led to the arrests of activists who had criticized the government.
The police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas, leaving several people with bloody backs and faces, according to interviews with villagers and images posted online.
The turmoil in Wukan, a fishing village of 13,000 in Guangdong Province, began before sunrise, as hundreds of police officers descended and rounded up 13 people, accusing them of spreading rumors, inciting mobs and disrupting public order.
Soon after, protesters began marching through the streets, denouncing the arrests as unjust. The activists had been pressing for the release of a village leader, Lin Zuluan, who was sentenced last week to three years in prison on corruption charges.
Mr. Lin is a beloved figure who helped lead the village’s fight against land seizures, which gained international attention in 2011 when villagers expelled local Communist Party officials and demanded free elections.
Since Mr. Lin’s detention in June, Wukan residents have held daily protests to call for his release. They have also asked the government to return land they say belongs to villagers, rather than sell it to real estate developers.
Lin Zuluan, a leader in Wukan, was sentenced recently to three years in prison on corruption charges. Residents have held daily protests to call for his release.
The New York Times
Mr. Lin was jailed on charges of bribery and abuse of power, but his supporters say that a taped confession officials used to support the case had been coerced.
On Tuesday, villagers chanted slogans like “Long live the Communist Party!” and “Return our land!” A video posted online showed a crowd throwing stones at police officers, who ducked beneath shields and retreated.
A resident of Wukan who gave only his last name, Huang, for fear of retribution by the authorities, said that the unrest lasted for at least seven hours and that many people had been wounded.
“Rather than helping us,” he said in an interview, “the local government has been suppressing us.”
The village remained on lockdown late Tuesday, residents said. The authorities were searching for five people they described as criminal suspects, offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to their arrest, according to a bulletin circulated by activists.
In a statement posted online on Tuesday, the police in Lufeng, the city that oversees Wukan, said residents had supported their efforts and “life and work are returning to normal.” The police warned that they would take action against anyone who spread false information.
Land disputes are a major source of unrest in rural China, as officials, looking for new sources of revenues, sell communal plots to developers, often with little compensation for villagers.
Mr. Lin, who was elected party secretary in 2012, had for years clashed with higher-level officials in Guangdong Province as he sought to win back land that had been marked for development, activists said.
The state news media on Tuesday said the authorities had “addressed all of the Wukan villagers’ legitimate demands,” and that more land had been returned to the village after Mr. Lin’s sentencing last week.
Wukan was once hailed as a model of grass-roots participation that other Chinese villages might emulate as they sought to root out corruption. But in recent months, it became clear that the village’s experiment in democracy would no longer be tolerated.
Under President Xi Jinping, China has sought to limit the spread of democratic ideals, punishing activists who embraced Western notions of free speech and assembly.
Critics have suggested that Mr. Xi has used a far-reaching national campaign against corruption, which has ensnared thousands of officials, to go after his political enemies.
Mr. Lin, who is in his early 70s, was not the first official in Wukan to be sidelined on corruption charges. In 2014, the authorities jailed two other village leaders who helped lead the uprising in 2011 that garnered international attention.
Johan Lagerkvist, a professor at Stockholm University who has studied the unrest in Wukan, said the village fell victim to an “ongoing struggle between the democratic leadership — the villagers’ government — and the Communist Party cadres.”
He said it was now unlikely that other villages in China would adopt democracy in the mold of Wukan.
“People are more scared,” Mr. Lagerkvist said. “Confidence is pretty low that they could stage a protest successfully and perhaps even engage in a pure and clean election without involvement from the Communist Party.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/world/asia/wukan-china-land-use-protests.html
Video A riot broke out in Wukan, in southern China, on Tuesday. Footage shows police in riot gear using tear gas against dozens of people protesting over earlier raids that led to the arrests of local activists.
By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ
September 13, 2016
BEIJING — A riot broke out in the southern Chinese village of Wukan on Tuesday as dozens of people, many of them waving flags and hurling stones, protested early morning raids that led to the arrests of activists who had criticized the government.
The police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas, leaving several people with bloody backs and faces, according to interviews with villagers and images posted online.
The turmoil in Wukan, a fishing village of 13,000 in Guangdong Province, began before sunrise, as hundreds of police officers descended and rounded up 13 people, accusing them of spreading rumors, inciting mobs and disrupting public order.
Soon after, protesters began marching through the streets, denouncing the arrests as unjust. The activists had been pressing for the release of a village leader, Lin Zuluan, who was sentenced last week to three years in prison on corruption charges.
Mr. Lin is a beloved figure who helped lead the village’s fight against land seizures, which gained international attention in 2011 when villagers expelled local Communist Party officials and demanded free elections.
Since Mr. Lin’s detention in June, Wukan residents have held daily protests to call for his release. They have also asked the government to return land they say belongs to villagers, rather than sell it to real estate developers.
Lin Zuluan, a leader in Wukan, was sentenced recently to three years in prison on corruption charges. Residents have held daily protests to call for his release.
The New York Times
Mr. Lin was jailed on charges of bribery and abuse of power, but his supporters say that a taped confession officials used to support the case had been coerced.
On Tuesday, villagers chanted slogans like “Long live the Communist Party!” and “Return our land!” A video posted online showed a crowd throwing stones at police officers, who ducked beneath shields and retreated.
A resident of Wukan who gave only his last name, Huang, for fear of retribution by the authorities, said that the unrest lasted for at least seven hours and that many people had been wounded.
“Rather than helping us,” he said in an interview, “the local government has been suppressing us.”
The village remained on lockdown late Tuesday, residents said. The authorities were searching for five people they described as criminal suspects, offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to their arrest, according to a bulletin circulated by activists.
In a statement posted online on Tuesday, the police in Lufeng, the city that oversees Wukan, said residents had supported their efforts and “life and work are returning to normal.” The police warned that they would take action against anyone who spread false information.
Land disputes are a major source of unrest in rural China, as officials, looking for new sources of revenues, sell communal plots to developers, often with little compensation for villagers.
Mr. Lin, who was elected party secretary in 2012, had for years clashed with higher-level officials in Guangdong Province as he sought to win back land that had been marked for development, activists said.
The state news media on Tuesday said the authorities had “addressed all of the Wukan villagers’ legitimate demands,” and that more land had been returned to the village after Mr. Lin’s sentencing last week.
Wukan was once hailed as a model of grass-roots participation that other Chinese villages might emulate as they sought to root out corruption. But in recent months, it became clear that the village’s experiment in democracy would no longer be tolerated.
Under President Xi Jinping, China has sought to limit the spread of democratic ideals, punishing activists who embraced Western notions of free speech and assembly.
Critics have suggested that Mr. Xi has used a far-reaching national campaign against corruption, which has ensnared thousands of officials, to go after his political enemies.
Mr. Lin, who is in his early 70s, was not the first official in Wukan to be sidelined on corruption charges. In 2014, the authorities jailed two other village leaders who helped lead the uprising in 2011 that garnered international attention.
Johan Lagerkvist, a professor at Stockholm University who has studied the unrest in Wukan, said the village fell victim to an “ongoing struggle between the democratic leadership — the villagers’ government — and the Communist Party cadres.”
He said it was now unlikely that other villages in China would adopt democracy in the mold of Wukan.
“People are more scared,” Mr. Lagerkvist said. “Confidence is pretty low that they could stage a protest successfully and perhaps even engage in a pure and clean election without involvement from the Communist Party.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/world/asia/wukan-china-land-use-protests.html
