Police in China's Hainan beat, detain villagers over land protest
| Publisher | Radio Free Asia |
| Publication Date | 3 August 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Asia, Police in China's Hainan beat, detain villagers over land protest, 3 August 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/55e59c94c.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
2015-08-03
Villagers protest for promised compensation in land grab, Hainan, China, July 31, 2015. Photo courtesy of an RFA listener
Chinese police attacked a protest rally in southern China's island province of Hainan on Friday, beating and detaining 10, as more than a thousand villagers gathered outside government offices to protest what they called the embezzlement of funds promised in compensation for confiscated land, sources said.
The protesters, representing 10 villages in Hainan's Lingshui county, had petitioned daily at the site in Yelin township since mid-June, sources said, with comments posted by protesters on social media saying that many among those most badly hurt in the July 31 police assault were elderly.
"Those injured are in their 50s and 60s," one post read, adding, "They were beaten and hospitalized just because they complained about the local government's embezzlement."
"The [ruling] Chinese Communist Party is so cruel," the post said.
"One 60-year-old woman was injured so badly that she had to be sent to a hospital in Haikou city for treatment," read another post, written by villager Yan Zhifang.
"One senior citizen was beaten so badly, he couldn't even move," villager A Mimi wrote, adding, "Those who were seriously injured were sent to hospitals for treatment."
The display by protesters of banners on Friday may have especially angered the authorities, a villager surnamed Sun said.
"Many police came and tried to confiscate the banners, but the villagers resisted."
"So they beat the villagers and kicked them, and 10 people were injured and detained," he said.
Amount promised in dispute
Around two billion yuan [U.S. $322,500,000] in promised compensation funds was never paid since village land was claimed in 2010 for development projects, village sources said.
"The amount of compensation was to have been 34,000 yuan [U.S. $5,482.50] per person," Yan Zhifang wrote. "However, each villager has received only 3,400 yuan [U.S. $548.25]."
"Therefore, the villagers have been protesting on a daily basis. Almost all the families in the villages are involved," he said.
Reached for comment, local police refused to provide details of the July 31 incident.
But Chen Weiyi – party chief of Zhuojie district, in which Yelin township lies – claimed that villagers had inflated the amount of money they were promised in exchange for their land.
"[They were promised] exactly 3,450 yuan, not 34,500 yuan. This is all false. The villagers gave their figures incorrectly," he said.
Clashes in China between rural communities and police are becoming more widespread as local residents increasingly challenge lucrative property deals between local officials and developers involving collectively owned land.
Reported by RFA's Cantonese and Mandarin Services. Translated by Shiny Li and Feng Xiaoming. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Link to original story on RFA website
