China’s village standoff shows no sign of easing/ENG

DHARAMSHALA, December 15: Chinese security officials have sealed off a fishing village of over 20,000 people in Guangdong province in southern China in one of the most widely covered stand-offs between the public and the police over land dispute.

Wukan village was locked down as widespread protests spread in the region earlier this week following the custodial death of the village chief negotiator Xue Jinbo on Sunday. The family members of the deceased have accused the police of killing Xue, who had been detained on charges of rioting, citing the signs of torture on his body.

However, the Chinese police told reporters that the village representative died of a heart attack.

Angered by the mysterious death of the 42-year old village negotiator, residents of the Wukan village led a mass protest, throwing out the local authorities and blocking the Chinese police from entering into the village.

Local authorities responded by shutting down local businesses, forbidding the villagers from going out for fishing, and blocking food stock business from the markets in the region.

Villagers accuse corrupt local officials of colluding with developers and selling their land to build factories without their consent and without offering compensation.

They are demanding an investigation into the custodial death of Xue and seeking the release of four other jailed villagers.

The latest protest comes weeks after China’s top security chief Zhou Yongkang warned provincial officials of more unrests in China.

Following the market slump and labour unrests, China this year will be spending more on “public security” than the military for the first time. Public security, which covers state surveillance of its people and maintaining China’s paramilitary police, received a boost by nearly 14% to the tune of $95 billion.
By Tendar Tsering