TMCnet News
China Sentences Dongzhou Villagers For Their Part in ClashesTMCnet News HONG KONG--Several villagers detained by the authorities after last year's Dec. 6 clashes in the southern Chinese township of Dongzhou have been sentenced to between three and seven years' imprisonment by a local court, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. "The trial began on May 22, and today, the 24th, all of them received their sentences. Lin Hanru got five years, Huang Xijun also got five years, and Huang Xirang got seven years," a relative of Lin Hanru told RFA's Mandarin service. "All the local officials went to hear the result," she said. "I don't know what the charges were." At least three other villagers were all sentenced to three years' imprisonment apiece, another villager said. "There were six or seven people who received sentences of between three and seven years," the villager said. "Apart from the three village representatives, there was also Wang Xishu and Zhang Xinyi. I'm not sure about the names of the others." Local media reported the clashes, which blew up after riot police dispersed a crowd of protesters angry over a land deal surrounding a local power plant project, as a "serious law-breaking incident." But witnesses at the time said police opened fire first on the crowd, which retaliated with home-made explosives. Three people have been officially confirmed dead by the authorities, but villagers say that more than a dozen of their number were killed by riot police firing live ammunition. Police say that protesters attacked first with home-made explosives and that they reacted "in alarm." "We have no money--how could we appeal?" a relative of one of the sentenced villagers told RFA's Cantonese service, speaking on condition of anonymity. Official media blamed 'armed villagers' China's official Xinhua news agency blamed the clashes at the time on "more than 170 armed villagers led by instigators Huang Xijun, Lin Hanru, and Huang Xirang." "It became dark when the chaotic mob began to throw explosives at the police. Police were forced to open fire in alarm," Xinhua said, quoting the Guangdong provincial information office. "In the chaos, three villagers died, eight were injured with three of them fatally injured." Some of the villagers who had previously spoken to RFA were unwilling to comment out of fear, or were unreachable on their mobile phones as the phone lines were cut off. Lin Hanru's brother hung up when asked if he had seen him. Other villagers were unwilling to comment. "We don't have a reaction," one Dongzhou resident said. "The officials have already had their say." Another villager said the Dongzhou villagers had been trying to protect their rights and had ended up in jail. "What happened to the new countryside that {Premier] Wen Jiabao said he wanted to create, the harmonious society?" Meanwhile, local sources said that state prosecutors had been pursuing those deemed responsible for mishandling events in Dongzhou. Several officials from the nearby port city of Shanwei, which oversees Dongzhou in the chain of bureaucratic command, had been punished, including deputy municipal police chief Wu Sheng, who had been removed from office. According to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper, Shanwei deputy municipal Party secretary Liu Jinsheng had already been disciplined and warned through official channels. Also disciplined and investigated were: deputy Shanwei mayor and police chief Li Min; the head of the Shanwei municipal construction bureau chief Chen Huinan, who was involved in the handling of the land deal early in the process; and several members of the neighborhood committee of the Dongzhou Honghaiwan Development Zone, which was involved in the land deal. An official at the Shanwei municipal Party discipline and inspection commission declined to confirm the reports. "I don't know," she said, before hanging up. "Rubbish. Don't talk rubbish," said a man who answered the phone at the municipal Party criminal and law committee office. "Such a thing never happened," he said, then hung up. And an officer at the municipal police department hung up as soon as she heard the name of former police chief Wu Sheng. "The penalty for the villagers is too heavy but for the officials the penalty is too light. At least the officials should have been handed prison terms and had their property confiscated," another villager told RFA's Cantonese service. Mixed land-use system Under China's existing arrangements, all land belongs to the state, but land-use rights and limited leases can be sold and exchanged on the open market. Under the Household Responsibility System brought in by Deng Xiaoping in 1980, rural authorities contract land to the collective, often a village, which in turn distributes it to individual households. But heavily indebted local governments often fall back on using rural land within their jurisdiction for property developments. Rural protesters have frequently reported the use of secret meetings, bullying tactics, and mob violence by governments to enforce unpopular land transactions. Original reporting in Mandarin by Ding Xiao. RFA Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han. ##### RFA is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information in nine native Asian languages to listeners who lack access to full and free news media. The purpose of RFA is to provide a forum for a variety of opinions and voices from within these Asian countries. Strict adherence to the highest standards of journalism is at the very core of RFA's mission. Our Web site adds a global dimension to this objective. RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). ##### |