Chinese villagers fighting against land grabs slam police detention of inspirational chief 'an act of thuggery'
Wukan residents, in Guangdong, whose struggles made global headlines in 2011, in new stand-off with 400 police as Lin Zuluan held on suspicion of corruption
The arrest by Chinese police of the chief of a remote fishing village – which captured headlines around the world in 2011 when it challenged the government over illegal land grabs – has been condemned by residents as a “thuggish” attempt by officials to halt a mass protest against continuing abuses.
Prosecutors in Lufeng city in Guangdong province, who sent in the police to detain Lin Zuluan, 70, the party secretary of Wukan village, just after midnight on Saturday, said in a statement that he was being held on suspicion of taking bribes.
However, Yang Zhen, 68, Lin’s wife – who was pushed to the ground after chasing 10 officers, who arrested him by forcing their way into the couple’s home as they slept – has condemned his arrest, saying: “I don’t believe he would take any bribe.
“Lin was directly elected as village party secretary [in 2011] and in the five years since then has refused any payment for doing the job.
I don’t believe he would take any bribe ... He has even subsidised the running of the village committee himself
“He has even subsidised the running of the village committee himself, by using an allowance sent to him by our son to cover funding shortfalls.”
The village is planning a mass protest this week against what residents claim are continuing illegal land grabs.
Residents claim that a variety of individuals, companies and property developers have stolen more communal land – possibly with political backing.
Many of the villagers have been left stunned by Saturday morning’s arrest of Lin, their directly elected leader, who was leading their campaign. A second resident, who witnessed Lin’s arrest early in Saturday, was beaten and also arrested, villagers said.
Residents found themselves in a three-hour stand-off with nearly 400 policeman just after midnight on Saturday following Lin’s arrest.
City police also ordered villagers to remain calm after Lin’s detention, but warned that any violence or looting that occurred would be “dealt with an iron fist”.
What the authorities have done is no different from the acts of triads
“We call on all villagers to proactively support the works of the justice authorities, to help maintain the social stability, and do not be instigated by a few criminals to take extreme action,” said a police statement issued early on Saturday.
Villagers described the behaviour of the city police as “an act of thuggery”.
“What the authorities have done is no different from the acts of triads,” said one man, 37, who refused to be named.
“We are angry, shocked and confused .... Without Lin, we are a group without a leader.
“Lin could have been arrested in the daytime, so why make the arrest [at night] like a silent act of thieves? The arrest was just a creepy move aimed at paralysing Wukan’s protest.”
The show of force by police continued when a further 10 coaches full of police arrived in the village later on Saturday morning, to prevent the kind of unrest that sparked international headlines in 2011.
The police had detained Lin prior to him speaking at Sunday’s village’s general assembly meeting, where residents were planning to discuss this week’s mass demonstration.
Lin – also a village leader during the 2011 protest – had said in a prepared speech, circulated online last week, that the people of Wukan were “prepared to pay a higher price” than five years ago, in order to air their grievances against the inaction of the upper levels of governments over the land issue.
So far city officials have given villagers no explanation for their actions, or provided Lin’s family with any official documents over his arrest.
The Sunday Morning Post made repeated efforts to contact city officials on Saturday, but they could not be reached for comment.
Another former active protester, Zhang Jianxing, has been placed under house arrest by his family because of pressure from city authorities.
In 2011, the issue of illegal land grabs led to a months-long stand-off between the villagers and the authorities, which eventually attracted international attention.
The Guangdong provincial government eventually caved in and – in an attempt to end the protests over their land – granted Wukan residents a direct grassroots election, so that they could select their own leaders by ballot.
However, almost five years on, villagers have complained that the land disputes remained unresolved if not worsen.
Ironically, Zhu Mingguo, a close aide of then Guangdong Party chief Wang Yang, who forged the peaceful settlement over the 2011 Wukan protests, was arrested last year and admitted accepting bribes totalling more than 140 million yuan at a hearing last month.
This latest protest against the continuing problem of land grabs could prove a critical test for provincial party boss Hu Chunhua before of next year’s Party Congress, where politicians will be jockeying for position.
