It is not uncommon for public authorities in China to employ local thugs to do their bidding. In one such operation in Jiangxi, a woman lost her life.
Last year in May, officials from Jiangxi’s Madang town made several attempts at buying a village land. They wanted to acquire it cheaply and then pocket the profits by selling it for much more to commercial developers.
When the residents of Yuejin village continuously refused to sell their land, the town’s mayor decided to send in armed personnel and hired local thugs. On December 30, the men showed up at the village and started digging around the land with an excavator. More than 40 villagers protested this unlawful activity.
The men, however, both police officers and thugs, had the brief to use violence to intimidate the villagers. While some people were taken away in cars, several elderly villagers were thrown on the ground. Others were beaten up by thugs until they were foaming at the mouth.
Zhu Xuecheng, a female resident of the village, tried to save the land by demanding explanations from the men. At which, thugs picked her up and threw her onto a bulldozer. She was immediately taken to the hospital but died four days later. The local government tried to dispel the matter by offering her family 80,000 RMB or 11,000 USD in compensation, who refused the money. The town’s mayor is reported to have raised his hand at Ms. Zhu’s daughter, much to the outrage of the villagers.
In China, government officials often use taxpayer money to foster gangs. Bitter Winter has reported in past about a similar incident where thugs were employed to seize farmland. In other cases, thugs were hired to demolish a church and vandalize another.
Reported by Lin Yijiang
