The Daily China News Update is produced by Charles Silverman
China village defies officials to demand democracy (AFP)
Download 404.14 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- The rebel Chinese newspaper which dares to challenge the Communist party line (The Telegraph)
China village defies officials to demand democracy (AFP)03 MAR 2013 SHANGPU, China http://www.afp.com/en/news/topstories/china-village-defies-officials-demand-democracy/ Villagers in southern China were locked in a stand-off with authorities Sunday and were demanding democratic polls after a violent clash with thugs linked to a local official over a land transfer. Just over a week ago, residents of Shangpu in Guangdong province fought with scores of attackers whom they claimed were sent by the village communist party chief and a business tycoon after they protested against a land deal. Now police are blockading the settlement to outsiders while residents refuse to let officials inside, days before the annual meeting of the country's legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC). The situation recalls a similar episode in Wukan, also in Guangdong and around 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Shangpu, which made headlines worldwide 15 months ago. AFP is believed to be the first Western media organisation to enter Shangpu since the stand-off began. At the main entrance of the village of 3,000 people, 40 police and officials stood guard, barring outside vehicles from entering. Not far away, a cloth banner read: "Strongly request legal, democratic elections." Shangpu's two-storey houses, typical of the region, and low-slung family-run workshops are surrounded by fields awaiting spring planting. But the main street is lined with the wrecks of cars damaged in the clash, with glass and metal littering the ground. Residents said they should have the right to vote both for the leader who represents them and on whether to approve a controversial proposal to transform rice fields into an industrial zone. "This should be decided by a vote by villagers," said one of the protest leaders, adding: "The village chief should represent our interests, but he doesn't." Locals fear that once the NPC -- which starts Tuesday -- ends, authorities will move in with force. China's parliament is widely seen as a "rubber stamp" whose hand-picked members do the bidding of the ruling party. Chinese leaders have repeatedly ruled out Western-style democracy for the country. "For the purpose of maintaining stability, they (authorities) don't want to use forceful measures before the meetings," another villager said. "We are afraid of them coming back." The unidentified attackers, some of whom wore orange hard hats and red armbands, drove into the village and turned on residents with shovels and other weapons. Villagers drove the interlopers off by hitting them with bamboo poles and throwing bricks from a nearby construction site, according to first-hand accounts and video of the incident provided to AFP. They said they then vented their fury on the attackers' cars, overturning and smashing as many as 29 vehicles. Residents claimed some of the group had knives and a gun. A video showed a man firing a handgun into the air and villagers said he was a plainclothes police officer trying to intercede. At least eight villagers were injured. In Wukan in late 2011, a protest by residents against a land grab by local officials accused of corruption escalated after one of their leaders died in police custody. Villagers barricaded roads and faced off against security forces for 10 days, until authorities backed down and promised them rare concessions. Residents were later allowed to hold open village elections -- a first in Wukan. The people of Shangpu had heard of Wukan indirectly, and had similar demands: free elections for their leader. They claim the current village chief Li Baoyu, who is also the party head, was foisted on them by higher authorities. Residents allege Li fraudulently obtained signatures to support the transfer of 33 hectares (82 acres) of farmland to the Wanfeng Investment Co, backed by businessman Wu Guicun, to be used for factories producing electrical cables. The village's ruling committee will receive compensation based on the yield of rice that would have been planted on the land. But residents fear they themselves will not be paid and say the compensation does not reflect the true value. "Village cadres have illegally dealt in land and leased land at a low price," they said in a petition to higher officials. In the government's only official statement on the case, Jiexi county, which administers the village, pledged to pursue those responsible for the attack and bring criminal prosecutions. No one from Wanfeng Investment Co could be reached for comment. The rebel Chinese newspaper which dares to challenge the Communist party line (The Telegraph)Malcolm Moore reports on a small Chinese village which has set up its own campaigning newspaper to counter official Communist party propaganda By Malcolm Moore, in Nangaoying 03 Mar 2013 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9905781/The-rebel-Chinese-newspaper-which-dares-to-challenge-the-Communist-party-line.html In this northern Chinese village, there is a tale of two newspapers, an old fashioned media battle. In the red corner is the Gaoying News, the official organ of the local government, filled with Communist party propaganda. On the other side is something incredibly rare, considering China's vice-like control over the media: a rebel newspaper. Operating out of two rooms in a dilapidated pharmaceutical factory, and with a staff of four, the Voice of the People is a muckraking four-page freesheet that challenges everything the Gaoying News writes. "We wanted to rebuke the lies of the official newspaper," said He Jianguo, 44, a former pharmaceuticals salesman who has become one of the editors of the Voice of the People. "Because we have a saying here in China: if you repeat a lie 100 times, it becomes the truth." The Voice of the People may not show that China is ready to free the fourth estate, but it does show the space that ordinary Chinese now have to publicly express their criticism, call for justice and fight for their rights. According to Mr He, the last three years have been the worst of times for Nangaoying. The village, in a north east suburb of Shijiazhuang (pop. 10 million) had been a prosperous community of some 8,000 residents, many of whom worked at local factories making pharmaceuticals, glucose and fertiliser. But in 2009, a new village chief, He Chunlu, was elected. Soon after the villagers were evicted and their land sold to property developers for luxury apartments. Of the 8,000 villagers only 200 or so remain, their houses cut off from water. One villager, Chen Wenbo, speculated that the village chief sold the land to line his pockets. "Our land was worth £200,000 a hectare," he said. "But it sold for £80,000. There must have been kickbacks". The editors of the Voice of the People said they have not yet uncovered proof of the village chief's corruption. But they have published photographic evidence of his wealth. "We just waited outside his office and photographed his three new Audi cars. It was easy," said Mr He with a grin. One of them, the Audi Q7 SUV, sells for between £100,000 and £250,000 in China. He added that the village chief had won the election after throwing lavish banquets for 5,000 of the villagers. "But we did not publish that – it is standard practice in the countryside". The paper has laid out, in stark detail, how it claims the village chief is illegally funnelling money to his own private firm and how due process has been ignored in the eviction of the villagers. One article included a diagram mapping out the village chief's network of business interests and cronies. "We do our research from the figures released by the industrial and business bureau, and from the tax office statistics," said He Yanhong, 40, another of the paper's editors (half of Nangaoying's 8,000 residents share the surname He). "We want to tell the people that they have a voice. A paper is old-fashioned, but we are hoping the villagers who read it will then spread our information over the internet," said Ms He. The editors said the Communist party is aware of the paper, but so far has decided not to squash it. "The province's Propaganda department knows about us. They ask us not to publish at particularly sensitive times. But otherwise we are too small and we do not earn any money, so we are under their radar," said Mr He. The village chief has never acknowledged the existence of the Voice of the People. Now the editors are campaigning for fresh elections in the village. "The village chief has outlasted the standard term," said Mr He. "We were going to have an election on February 24, but they cancelled it the evening before". Meanwhile, the Gaoying News has stepped up the frequency of its publishing schedule, keen to win over the recalcitrant villagers. "We have seen them taking photographs in the village occasionally," said Mr He. "But their reporters have never interviewed anyone in the village. They mostly publish official news". A spokesman for the official paper declined to comment on its rival. "We have been tricked many times by fake journalists," he said. Additional reporting by Valentina Luo Directory: 2013 2013 -> Annual InStructional unit plan 2013 -> The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine 2013 -> #1 a lifesafer of virginia inc 2013 -> Name(s): your name here team or Group #(if applicable): Professor’s name 2013 -> Alcott Local School Council (lcs) Meeting Minutes 2013 -> Table Of Contents introduction 2 2013 -> Supplemental demographic information 2013 -> 【Education&Working Experience】 Download 404.14 Kb. Share with your friends:
|