50 activists behind attempted National Day protest are freed

Public security officials yesterday released more than 50 people who were detained after attempting to organise a National Day protest in Tiananmen Square against corrupt land planning officials.

Officials denied anyone had been arrested, but Guan Zhenli, one of the organisers, said he had been held since September 30.

'They told me to stop participating in politics,' said Mr Guan, a social activist who has helped various Beijing residents organise protests against forced evictions by local district governments.

'I told them I am a laobaixin [an ordinary resident], but that I hoped the government would abide by the law and stop cheating us.'

More than 1,000 people tried to converge on the capital on October 1 to protest against corruption among land development and urban planning officials, but cancelled the demonstration after their leaders were arrested.

It is widely believed that local urban planning officials pay only 30 to 40 per cent of the money for land development they receive from developers to evicted residents and pocket the rest.

The corruption in China's real estate sector is now so serious that President Hu Jintao mentioned the issue in a recent speech.