Inside China Today

Inside China Today – Sunday 13th June

- Disgruntled villager runs down demolition team

- Anguished author’s outcry

- Dissidents ushered away during June 4th anniversary

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Disgruntled villager runs down demolition team

A protest in Henan Province has taken a turn for the worst as a disgruntled villager drove a truck into a demolition crew. On June 1st, Liu Danao drove his truck into demolition workers in protest against forced housing demolitions. The crash caused five deaths and over thirty injuries. Liu, who was accompanied by four other villagers, went to a local police station to turn himself in. Police subsequently detained several other villagers. Some have been released.

According to witnesses, a team of over 500 people, including police, riot police, fire fighters, government officials and demolition crews, went to Liuzhuang Village at around 6 am on June 1st. They were to demolish the homes of villages. In protest, Liu Danao first drove his truck, stopping in front of demolition machinery. Police began smashing his truck, in anger Liu proceeded to drive into the demolition crew.

China’s state-run media have run contradicting reports on the incident. They reported just four deaths and fifteen injuries, and also that police apprehended Mr Liu. Yu Guofu, a human rights activist in Henan has blasted official media for the incorrect reports.

He said (recording):
“The official reports certainly deviated from the truth. If it weren’t for the forced demolition, why would he drive his truck into these people? Now the officials bully civilians to such an extent that civilians have to protest. Four people died on the spot, another one died during emergency rescue. So five people died. The number of injuries is over thirty however, media reports said it was over ten. On May 27th, a demolition crew member fell when working and killed another person. All official media stay silent on this issue. They are hiding the truth.”

Yu Guofu told SOH reporters that Liu Danao is over sixty years old, he’s simple and well-behaved. He told us what happened at the police station (recording):
“Liu Danao went to turn himself in at around 5 p.m. Four villagers went with him. Those four villagers were detained as well. They were not released until June 3rd. Liu was about to be sentenced. His family and relatives, that is, his wife and two daughters, his younger brother Liu Sannao and sister-in-law, his sister and brother-in-law, were all taken away by the police. The villagers who went to police to appeal the next day were also arrested. Until now, only some of the villagers have been released.”

Starting from November last year, the Yutong Corporation of Zhengzhou City has planned to demolish South Liuzhuang Village to develop an industrial park. Local authorities did not reach any agreement with the villagers, nor did the demolition team follow any legal procedures. On May 31st, someone posted a notice in the village in the afternoon, it read:

“Water and electricity will be shut off on June 1 for the entire village, and the all-round demolition will get started.”

Yu Guofu said he received complaints from villagers as early as May, and the villagers have been appealing since April this year. However, the related departments simply ignored their appeals.

Yu said (recording):
“They came up with this “overlord agreement”, where 300 out of the 400 households in the village had to move out. Only eighteen households could stay. Villagers have been going to Beijing to appeal numerous times. The Henan Provincial Office stationed in Beijing intercepted these appellants immediately and sent them back. Due to corruption, they simply ignored their appeals. Now that Liu Danao has protested in such a drastic way, they have stopped the demolition temporarily, and are asking for the villagers’ opinions. Liu has protected the personal interests of all villagers. He can be said to be a hero fighting against corruption. However, based on the legal system in this society, he certainly will be mistreated.”

Wang Qian and Hui Hong of the SOH Radio Network

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Anguished author’s outcry

A Chinese woman faces ongoing pressure from authorities in the lead up to the release of her book titled: “Female Prisoner of the Red Mansion”. The book is a memorandum of her time spent in prison for leading a protest following the mass shooting of protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

On the day following the June 4th massacre, Sun made a public speech at Tiantong Road in Shanghai. She led a group of people in moving the barricades from one side of the street to the center of the road to protest, before she was arrested.

Sun Baoqiang was sentenced to three years in prison for “spreading rumors, incitement, and interfering with public transportation”. After being released from prison, Ms Baoqiang lost her job, apartment, and 21 years of work benefits.

Recently, when interviewed by SOH Radio she said (recording):
“Ever since I began writing this memoir, police from State security and the local precinct kept asking for my manuscript and threatening me. Four years ago I created a blog including this information. First they disabled the message board and then they deactivated the blog all together. I am being ‘silenced’ and don’t have a voice.”

Sun revealed that the Party has been monitoring her and her family in order to prevent the book from being published. According to Sun, (recording):
“All my mail was intercepted and all phone conversations were tapped. They not only kept calling my boss, but also called my landlord to evict me. My husband and son are scared and terrified, their suffering, hardship, humiliation, and depression are indescribable.”

Sun said (recording):
“‘Female Prisoner of the Red Mansion’ is a book that does not involve any state or any big secrets. The Party is afraid; they have no interest in serious crime but spend their time on us, the so-called dissidents. This is a real pity.”

Sun felt the reason the Communist government kept suppressing and persecuting her is because of her refusal to remain silent following the June 4th massacre.
She said (recording):
“Even though my outcry is so weak and feeble, as long as my heart is beating I will continue to write with my pen. Even though most of my writing is not published, this book has to be published.”

Sun was a typist at Shanghai Petro Refinery, and often published articles about contemporary issues. On June 4th, 1989, the Communist government used hundreds of thousands of troops and opened fire on peacefully appealing citizens and students in Beijing.

Despite struggling to survive over the past 21 years, she has never lost her faith. To date, Sun has written four books, and several commentaries on contemporary issues. Including her latest book, “Female Prisoner of the Red Mansion”, she has also written two novels: “Goriot the Shanghai Version”, and “The Low Life Shanghainese” series of books.

Fu Ming and Zhao Hui of the SOH Radio Network

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Dissidents ushered away during June 4th anniversary

Speaking over the phone, democratic activist Fu Shen has told SOH that police have been forcing many dissidents out of Xi’an in China’s north, for unknown reasons.

A city over 3,000 years old, Xi’an is the capital city of Shaanxi province and has been the capital, under various names, of some of the most important dynasties in Chinese history. Today, it is the home of several prominent democratic activists.

In the lead up to the June 4th anniversary of the infamous 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, several Chinese dissidents were arrested or sent away from Xi’an. In Xi’an, many were escorted by police to other provinces. Several dissidents from Guizhou in China’s south were also arrested.

Fu Shen told SOH that police told the dissidents they were being taken on a trip because they had, quote “worked so hard”.

He said (recording):
“At the moment, I am being escorted to some other place, out of Xi’an. I have no choice but to leave. Right now, almost everyone in Xi’an has been sent off. Ma Xiaoming was taken away yesterday. This morning, Ma Yuzhong, Zhang Jiankang, Yang Hai and Zhen Bao were taken away. All these heavyweights in Xi’an were taken away. This year is the last frenzy. Analysis of the situation around the country suggests that, for unknown reasons this year, everyone (would return) in three or four days, or a week. Three or four policemen or national security police acted as escorts, without any (formality), and they all had “beaming” excuses, such as ‘You’ve worked hard. Let’s go out on a trip’.”

When reporters called Guizhou dissident Chen Xi, his wife said he was already gone. Moreover, several other dissidents in Guizhou were also detained.

She told reporters (recording):
“He was taken by the police last night, without any (written notice). He did not take anything with him. It seems that Mo Jiangang was also taken away. I don’t know about others. It is (because of) 4th of June. Nothing was said (about their return), but it is possible to be after the 4th of June. He was told to take his own clothes.”

Telephone calls to Mo Jiangang and Du Heping weren’t answered. They were nowhere to be found.

Tian Xi of the SOH Radio Network.

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