As many as 10,000 people turned up at the May 13 gathering in Kunming, but media were reportedly banned from covering it. Photo: Screenshot via Weibo

Kunming ex-official, 91, an unlikely leader for farmers fighting land seizures

Yunnan villagers heed the rally cry of Yang Weijun, who in May blasted corrupt officials during a massive gathering

Patrick Boehler

Published: 10:17am, 2 Jul, 2013

Updated: 2:51pm, 20 Jul, 2018

As many as 10,000 people turned up at the May 13 gathering in Kunming, but media were reportedly banned from covering it. Photo: Screenshot via Weibo

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Patrick Boehler

Patrick Boehler has published on China and Southeast Asia in four languages for publications in the US, Europe and Asia. After stints with Austria's ministries of defence and foreign affairs in Vienna and Beijing, he began his reporting career in Kuala Lumpur with the Malaysian online news portal Malaysiakini and, later, The Irrawaddy Magazine, a Myanmar exile publication in Thailand. He holds a doctorate in political science and has taught journalism at the University of Hong Kong. Follow him on Twitter: @mrbaopanrui