A family, who lived in the building, was forced to stand by and watch - without clothes - while violent thugs razed the building to the ground. A police car passed the scene of the crime but failed to intervene. Increasingly common use of violent gangs by government to take land for resale. The case of the Sisters of Xian.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - A group of "thugs" attacked a Chinese family who were then forced to watch as their small "moon cakes" factory was demolished. The attack took place at dawn yesterday, 18 January. Police in Xinzheng - in Henan province - did not intervene. The factory had been targeted by "unknown" assailants for some time, and despite complaints the authorities have not opened an investigation. The practice of using "thugs" to evict families from land or businesses that affect local governments has long been in use.

According to the story told by the father on the night between Saturday and Sunday, he woke up to use the bathroom that is located in the small factory, where the family lives to save on rent. Inside, a group of about 12 people were smashing the windows and furniture: he immediately called his brother - the owner of the company - on the phone, and asked him to intervene.

While he is calling, he was seen by the thugs who forced him to stay on the ground: they then dragged his wife and son from their beds and put them all together. The three, who sleep naked, were not even allowed to get dressed and were forced to watch as the group destroyed everything (see photo). Outside a police car passed by but despite the devastation being wreaked did not intervene. When asked by local reporters, officials denied the allegations of negligence and say they passed the case to "higher authorities".

However, the factory owner is convinced that the attack is fuelled by the authorities, since he has repeatedly denounced similar incidents of violence and intimidation against him that have never been investigated. On the other hand the use of "thugs" and "criminals" has long been in vogue in China to eliminate land owners from properties coveted by the government, but which has no legal means to take them.

In 2005, for example, a group of 40 "thugs" targeted the sisters of the diocese of Xian who were holding a sit-in trying to save the diocesan school of the Rosary from demolition. The religious sisters were savagely beaten - click here for the dossier prepared at the time by AsiaNews - and only the intervention of international public opinion prevented the affair from being buried in silence. In any case, the government claims the diocese owes millions of  yuan for the buildings, which had been confiscated from the Church during the Cultural Revolution.

 

• CHINA
• henan
• factory
• land
• expropriation
• thugs
• gangs
• communist
• government
• corruption