Qian Yunhui, head of Zhaiqiao village, fought for years against forced land seizures at the expenses of local farmers. On several occasions, he was detained and held in prison for petitioning the authorities. On Christmas day, a lorry hit and killed him. Residents of his village took to the street demanding justice in what many think is a case of murder.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – The chief of a small village in southern China died on Christmas day in a suspicious road traffic accident. Qian Yunhui had led a fight to stop the forced seizure of village land by the government. Most of his fellow villagers believe he was killed on order by the authorities and are fighting to keep the case open. His death highlights how ordinary people in China are increasingly frustrated with the government and its abuses.

Because of the protest by residents of Zhaiqiao village, Zhejiang provincial authorities sent about a thousand police officers in anti-riot gear to disperse the protesting crowd, which tried to stop the removal of the dead man’s body from the site of the accident.

Qian Yunhui, 53, was hit and killed by a lorry driven by a driver without a licence. However, at a Yueqing police press conference on Sunday, his death was attributed to a "simple traffic accident".

The village chief was well known locally for his fight against the government’s land grab. He was repeatedly detained, in 2004, 2005 and 2008, for frequently petitioning the authorities about the expropriation of most of the village's farmland in favour of a power plant with little compensation paid out. Two years ago, he was arrested and held in prison until he was released in July this year.

Many internet users believe he was murdered. The Southern Metropolis News quoted villagers as saying that dozens of residents tried to protect the scene of his death, trying to stop police from taking Qian's body away. Quickly, the authorities deployed more than a thousand police agents with shields and electric batons to disperse the crowd. Many want the case investigated, certain that Qian was murdered.

At least six witnesses who confronted police were detained. Villagers also said that Qian's daughter, younger brother and other relatives were taken away.

For its part, the China Business News quoted villagers who said that Qian was "carried by four uniformed security guards and thrown in front of the heavy truck before it ran over and killed him". As a result of the incident, head and body were separated.

Local police claimed that the only surveillance camera in place failed to record the incident due to a technical problem.

Qian's death was one of the hottest topics among mainland internet users. Xinhua said more than 4 million internet users had read about Qian's death and 200,000 had commented.

Some newspapers published editorials urging the authorities to deal with the matter. However, censors deleted all internet postings by Qian on the mainland's popular Tianya forum.

• china
• zhaiqiao
• hit
• kill
• road
• accident
• murder
• village
• qian
• yunhui