Tangshan Protest

Tangshan Protest

In 2004 more than 11,000 farmers in Hebei Province of China signed a petition calling for the removal of Communist Party officials who were allegedly involved in corruption. The protest led to a crackdown on rights activists and further repression of the farmers.

Details of the Protest

Between 1992 and 1997, 23,000 Chinese farmers were resettled in Tangshan prefecture of Hebei Province to make way for the Taolinkou reservoir, some 100 km (60 miles) to east of Beijing. By 2004, more than eight years after they had been moved, the displaced farmers had not been properly compensated. The farmers asserted that up to 60 million yuan of compensation funds had been misappropriated by officials from the local Government. They said they were owed 13,000 yuan (U.S. $1,570) per household in compensation but some had received only half the amount, while others had received nothing [http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2004/06/07/137930/] .

Under the leadership of Zhang Youren, a peasant activist, the farmers organised a petition. They were given advice and encouragement by Yu Meisun and Li Boguang, both legal scholars, and Zhao Yan a journalist with the magazine "China Reform". The petition, signed by 11,238 farmers, was entitled “The request to remove the National and Heibei Province People's Congress Representative status of Tangshan Municipal Communist Party Secretary, Zhang He”. The petition described the living conditions of the displaced farmers and how previous appeals had led to beatings, detention and forced labour. [http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/4-3-26/20580.html]

In February 2004, a group of ten farmer representatives travelled to the capital to submit their petition to the National People's Congress. In his opening speech to the Congress, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao promised a crackdown on corruption and illegal land seizures [http://www.probeinternational.org/tgp/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=9671] . Nevertheless, the farmers from Tangshan were rounded up by the Beijing police who accused them of being Falungong members and subversives [http://www.probeinternational.org/tgp/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=9692] . Zhang Youren was put under pressure to denounce the 'criminals' who had supported the petition. Zhao Yan quickly lost his job with the China Reform magazine and by the end of the year he had been imprisoned; he was still in jail two years later when the authorities finally convicted him of fraud [http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/226736/1/.html] . Li Boguang was arrested in December 2004 but released after a few weeks on condition that he had no further involvement in farmer protests [http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=8103] . Yu Meisun, who had already served an earlier jail sentence, was able to publish an online diary that gave details of police harassment.

Personal Account

Yu Meisun's diary includes the following account by Zhao Yan:

"Since early this year, displaced people from Tangshan and Qinhuangdao here in Hebei, and Fu'an City and Minhou Country in Fujian whose rights have long been violated have been demanding the recall of their Party Secretaries and mayors, making 2004 a landmark year for peasant activism. But these campaigns have been unlawfully suppressed by local police. The corrupt officials who are targets of the people's boiling grievances haven't been affected at all... This will ultimately lead the peasants to despair of any method but rebellion, and we'll see a new peasant revolution. In a couple of days, I'll go to Tangshan to visit Zhang Youren. Let's see if Zhang He has the nerve to arrest and charge me!

Further reading

* Diary of a Peasant Advocate, Yu Meisun, China Rights Forum, 2004/3, pages 61-67 [http://iso.hrichina.org/fs/downloadables/pdf/downloadable-resources/The_Diary_of_a_Peasant_Advocate.pdf?revision_id=16047] .
* Selected reports on Incidents relating to forced evictions, March 2003 - January 2005, Congressional Executive Commission on China [http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/rol/forcedevictionchart.pdf]
* Property Seizure in China, Roundtable Report, 21 June 2004, Congressional Executive Commission on China [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_house_hearings&docid=f:94854.pdf] .
* Ruling the Chinese Countryside: Rights Consciousness, Collective Action and Property Rights, Christopher Heurlin, 2006, University of Washington, [http://www.yale.edu/scr/Heurlin.pdf#search=%22%22Land%20Expropriation%20and%20Rural%20Conflicts%20in%20China%22%22]
* Chinese Society: Change Conflict and Resistance, Elizabeth Perry (ed.), 2003, Routledge [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415301696]

See also

* Zhang Youren, farmer activist
* Yu Meisun, lawyer
* Li Boguang, lawyer
* Zhao Yan, journalist
* Dongzhou protests
* Empowerment and Rights Institute
* List of Chinese dissidents
* Human rights in the People's Republic of China


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tangshan — Infobox Settlement name =Tangshan official name = other name = native name = nickname = settlement type =Prefecture level city total type = motto = translit lang1=Chinese translit lang1 type=Chinese translit lang1 info=唐山 translit lang1… …   Wikipedia

  • Li Boguang — (Simplified Chinese:李柏光; Hanyu Pinyin:Lǐ Bóguāng) (born 1968) is a Chinese legal scholar and human rights activist. Director of the Quimin Research Institute in Beijing, Dr. Li has supported farmers in seeking compensation for confiscated… …   Wikipedia

  • Human rights in the People's Republic of China — Human rights in China redirects here. For the non governmental organization, see Human Rights in China (organization). People s Republic of China This article is part of the series: P …   Wikipedia

  • Dongzhou protests — A series of protests took place for seven months up to December 2005 in Dongzhou (东洲), a village in Shanwei prefecture level city, Guangdong Province, China, organized in opposition to government plans to partially infill the bay and build a new… …   Wikipedia

  • Zhao Yan — (pinyin: Zhào Yán; Simplified Chinese: 赵岩, born March 14 1962) is a Chinese researcher employed by the Beijing bureau of the New York Times . He was imprisoned for a three year period starting 17 September, 2004, on charges of fraud, after… …   Wikipedia

  • 2008 Sichuan earthquake — 2008 Earthquake 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake …   Wikipedia

  • china — /chuy neuh/, n. 1. a translucent ceramic material, biscuit fired at a high temperature, its glaze fired at a low temperature. 2. any porcelain ware. 3. plates, cups, saucers, etc., collectively. 4. figurines made of porcelain or ceramic material …   Universalium

  • China — /chuy neuh/, n. 1. People s Republic of, a country in E Asia. 1,221,591,778; 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Cap.: Beijing. 2. Republic of. Also called Nationalist China. a republic consisting mainly of the island of Taiwan off the SE coast …   Universalium

  • Dalian — 大连   Sub provincial city   大连市 …   Wikipedia

  • Concerns and controversies over the 2008 Summer Olympics — 2008 Summer Olympics Bid process Venues Marketing Concerns and controversies Torch relay (route) Opening ceremony (flag bearers) Medal table (medalists) Closing ceremony Event calendar …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”