In 2013, local authorities in Fujian’s Fuzhou city had hired criminals to rough up villagers, who were fighting for their land.
In November 2013, the local government of Fuzhou’s Minqing town sought to buy over 1 acre of arable land from a Chipu village resident, Liu Lichun, for a price of 28,000 RMB (or about 4,000 USD). They wanted to use the land for building an industrial park.
Mr. Liu, however, refused to sell his land. Outraged, the authorities ordered for the land to be seized by force and dispatch an excavator to the site. More than 100 hired criminals were also sent in, along with armed police personnel, to rough up villagers in case of protests.
Mr. Liu’s elderly father, to protect his land, positioned himself in the plot area. He was soon removed from the property and taken away by the criminals in an ambulance.
Mr. Liu’s wife, however, continued to stand in the middle of the land. A thug punched her so hard that her nose started to bleed because of a nasal fracture. A local official told other relatives of the family, “Anyone who blocks us is resisting the government. Today, the government is here to bully the people. If anyone tries to stop us, we will hit them.”
Mr. Liu’s wife had to be hospitalized because of her severe injuries, and the officials decided to stop seizing the land.
However, the government targeted Mr. Liu’s cousin, Liu Licai, for his participation in defending their rights: his daughter and son-in-law were arrested for “illegally operating a factory” and detained for 15 days. To punish her and her father even more deeply, the thugs were further ordered to remove industrial sewing machines from the daughter’s suitcase factory, making its normal functioning impossible.
Reported by Lin Yijiang
