How a deadly bomb attack on Chinese village officials highlights simmering tensions at the grass-roots level
- Last week’s fatal attack in Guangdong province was blamed on a local man seeking revenge over the handling of a property dispute
- Activists and lawyers say the case exposes the difficulty many people face in seeking redress from the authorities in land disputes
Feng Zhimin was waiting for a bus last week in a village near the southern city of Guangzhou when a sudden explosion across the street almost knocked him off his feet.
“It was so powerful that the windows were blown in and glass scattered everywhere. No one dared to go near the building [after the blast].
“I later saw a woman and a man being taken out [of the building] and they appeared to be dead,” said the 40-year-old, who escaped without injury. “People were really frightened and there was a lot of smoke. It was very scary.”
Last Monday’s attack on the village committee office in Mingjing in the southern province of Guangdong was blamed on a lone individual who was angered by officials’ handling of a property dispute.
The authorities say the 59-year-old, identified only by his surname Hu, was one of five people killed in the blast, which also wounded five others.