Government violence fails to stop the farmers protest in Guangdong province
Human rights activists : " Closeness to Hong Kong is stimulating the desire for democracy in the province".
Sanjiao (AsiaNews/Scmp) Police violence fails to stop social protest in China, the epicentre remains Guangdong. The inhabitants of 7 villages near the rich city Zhongshan declare "the government's response, be it lies or violence, is of little consequence: we will not abandon our protest".
January 11th last thousands of farmers blocked a part of the Nansan highway, exasperated by the requisition of their lands and more than 10 years of unanswered questions from the government who stand accused of not wanting to justly correctly compensate the farmers.
"We held sit-in protests outside the offices of the village and the township governments. says one villager- Some of us visited the provincial petition office, and some even visited Beijing. But the visits were all useless. So we decided to block the highway to force the government to give us an answer," As the crowd swelled from about 400 on the Wednesday to between 1,000 and 3,000 last Saturday night, the police used electrified batons and tear gas to disperse them.
Eye witnesses say A 13-year-old schoolgirl, Feng Meiying , was beaten to death, although authorities said she died from a heart attack. Accounts by villagers put the number of protesters admitted to hospital at nearly 100
Police have since stepped up surveillance, which includes checking the identities of people wanting to leave their villages. "But we are not giving up - says Aiguo villager Ms Hu Noi - and we are not giving in to the government's violent treatment".
"I want to ask [provincial party secretary] Zhang Dejiang what he really means by the 'three stern demands'? says another resident - How could the police beat civilians who just asked for what they deserve?"
The man is referring to a front-page editorial published by Guangdong media last month hailing a speech made by Zhang. In the speech, he demanded provincial officials observe three rules when overseeing land requisitions, one of which states building cannot start until farmers have been paid full compensation. But local businessmen and politicians are challenging the national directives.
The Sanjiao story is the latest in a number of high-profile land disputes in Guangdong. At least three villagers were shot dead in a dispute in Shanwei last month.
Farmland is owned by collectives, usually in the form of village committees. This gives the committee the right to lease land, although they are supposed to seek the consent of the users.
Rights activist Yang Maodong , better known as Guo Feixiong , said Guangdong was now at the peak of another land requisition period. "There have been relatively more disputes in Guangdong he explains - because land here is the most expensive in the country". The government had adopted a more uncompromising approach to handling the unrest because it had been given more autonomy in running its own affairs since the opening of the economy in the 1980s.
Another factor is "the proximity of Hong Kong" he concludes - "The inhabitants have relatives in Hong Kong and they have access to Hong Kong television broadcasts. They know people in Hong Kong and in other parts of the world hold protests when they are discontented".
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