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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Six die after rural unrest in China | |
| 2005-06-16 | |
| Dramatic video footage emerged yesterday showing violent clashes between Chinese farmers trying to protect their land from hundreds of men armed with shotguns, clubs and pipes, allegedly sent by the state to evict them. The typical modus operandus when these things occur. We need a new term for this, like Car Swarm or Crossfire.
Of course, the Scotsman will not be showing the video to us, it's too difficult for the peons to understand. The battle took place last Saturday in the village of Shengyou, 100 miles outside of Beijing. It has since been reported that the villagers have overrun the local headquarters of the Communist Party in protest. Although it is not unusual for rural protests to turn violent, they rarely end in so many deaths. Nor are protests usually resolved using hired hands. It is also rare for the fighting to be caught on camera. Initial negotiations over the land in question had proved inconclusive. "We're the Party, and we can make the best use of this land. Plus, we're going to make a fortune on graft. So get off." According to the Washington Post, villagers had refused an earlier cash offer from the power station, which, since 2003, has been negotiating with farmers to convert the land into a coal-storing facility. Look, shiny pennies! Local governments can choose to exercise their right to seize the land, usually paying minimal compensation, if it is deemed to be in the "public interest" - a loosely phrased term that critics have complained is regularly abused. In this case, it appears the local government gave the green light to the power station to remove the farmers. Both the local mayor and Communist Party leader have reportedly since been fired. Scapegoats. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. In April this year, pitched battles between 20,000 villagers in the eastern Zhejiang province and police proved inconclusive after villagers began protesting over a nearby industrial park, saying that it was polluting their land. In this incident in Zhejiang, the local Party officials bused in a bunch of guys, gave them shields and sticks, and told them they were riot police. They didn't want to be there, morale was low. And when one of the officials ran over an old lady who was blocking the roadway by lying down, the peasants went berserk. You don't mess with old people in China. The "riot police" ran away. Despite the attack, the farmers remained defiant, and in control of the area of disputed land. Fight the good fight, boys. | |
| Posted by:gromky |
| #3 Hint to the Chinese farmers. Wait till the goons debus their transportation and move up. That's when a good petro bomb into the bus will shut their quick escape route. Then follow the thugs at a distance, picking off stragglers, take cheap shots. See how far the city folk can walk and then run. Some farmers up in Massachusetts played that game a long time ago. |
| Posted by: Snetle Tholurong5083 2005-06-16 21:20 |
| #2 In an unedited version of the three-minute video, seen by The Scotsman, swarms of young men dressed in fatigues and wearing helmets led a dawn raid against a line of trenches and makeshift tents People's Army? Local goon squad? Who are we dealing with here? Or is this another one of those "business disputes"? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-06-16 11:11 |
| #1 I wonder if Mugabe got a license fee from the Chinese for using his tactic? Nah, the Chinese will rip off anyone. |
| Posted by: Spot 2005-06-16 08:55 |