Smashed police cars and buses after the battle in Huankantou
Posted on 04/17/2005 9:10:11 AM PDT by Dr. Marten
A bloody revolt in a tiny village challenges the rulers of China
Jonathan Watts reports from Huankantou where protesters angry at corruption and poverty repelled 1,000 riot police. But now fear is replacing euphoria
Jonathan Watts in Huankantou
Friday April 15, 2005
The Guardian
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Smashed police cars and buses after the battle in Huankantou |
They are the trophies of a battle in which peasants scored a rare and bloody victory against the communist authorities, who face one of the most serious popular challenges to their rule in recent years.
In driving off more than 1,000 riot police at the start of the week, Huankantou village in Zhejiang province is at the crest of a wave of anarchy that has seen millions of impoverished farmers block roads and launch protests against official corruption, environmental destruction and the growing gap between urban wealth and rural poverty.
China's media have been forbidden to report on the government's loss of control, but word is spreading quickly to nearby towns and cities. Tens of thousands of sightseers and wellwishers are flocking every day to see the village that beat the police.
But the consequences for Huankantou are far from clear.
Having put more than 30 police in hospital, five critically, the 10,000 residents should be bracing for a backlash. Instead, the mood is euphoric. Children have not been to school since Sunday's clash. There are roadblocks outside the chemical factory that was the origin of the dispute. Late at night the streets are full of gawping tourists, marshalled around the battleground by proud locals who bellow chaotic instructions through loudspeakers.
"Aren't these villagers brave? They are so tough it's unbelievable," said a taxi driver from Yiwu, the nearest city. "Everybody wants to come and see this place. We really admire them."
"We came to take a look because many people have heard of the riot," said a fashionably dressed young woman who had come from Yiwu with friends. "This is really big news."
Although the aftermath is evident in a school car park full of smashed police buses, burned out cars and streets full of broken bricks and discarded sticks, the origin of the riot is hazy.
Initial reports suggested that it started after the death of two elderly women, who were run over when police attempted to clear their protest against a chemical factory in a nearby industrial park.
Witnesses confirmed that the local old people's association had kept a 24-hour vigil for two weeks outside the plant. Many said they had heard of the deaths, but no one could name the victims. The local government of Dongyang insists there were no fatalities.
Like many of the other disputes that have racked China in the past year, frustration had been simmering for some time. Locals accused officials of seizing the land for the industrial park - built in 2002 - without their consent. Some blamed toxins from the chemical plant for ruined crops, malformed babies and contamination of the local Huashui river.
The village chief reportedly refused to hold a public meeting to hear these grievances. Attempts to petition the central government also proved fruitless. Locals said they had lost faith in the authorities.
"The communists are even worse than the Japanese," said one man.
Memories are still fresh of the fighting on Sunday. "It was about 4am and I was woken up by an unusual noise," said a Ms Wang, a shopkeeper who lives next to the school where the fiercest fighting took place. "When I looked out of the window, I saw lots of riot police running into the village. Many men rushed out of their houses to defend our village."
Accounts of the conflict differ. Residents say 3,000 police stormed the village, several people - including police - were killed, dozens wounded and 30 police buses destroyed. But the Dongyang government says about 1,000 police and local officials were attacked by a mob, which led to 36 injuries and no deaths.
The outcome is also unclear. Locals say the village chief has fled. In his place, they have established an organising committee, though its members are a secret. This suggests a fear of recriminations, but the public mood is one of bravado.
"We don't feel regret about what we have done," said a middle-aged man. "The police have not come back since they withdrew on Monday. They dare not return."
Some, however, admitted to anxiety. Among them was an old woman - also a Mrs Wang - who reluctantly opened her doors to visitors who had come to see her collection of trophies from the battle.
"I am scared," she said, as she showed two dented riot police helmets, several empty gas canisters, a policeman's jacket and several truncheons and machetes. "This is getting bigger and bigger."
But there have been no arrests and no communication from the authorities. The current leadership will be keen to avoid a Tiananmen Square-style confrontation, including prime minister Wen Jiabao, who pleaded with the Tianan men protesters to leave before the tanks came. At the same time, the authorities are committed to social stability.
According to government statistics, protests increased by 15% last year to 58,000, with more than 3 million people taking part. In many provincial capitals, roadblocks occur more than once a week. Last weekend, anti-Japanese demonstrators rallied in three cities, including Beijing.
But in Huankantou, villagers do not seem to realise that although they have won the battle, they may be far from winning the war.
Amid a crowd of locals beside a wrecked bus, one middle-aged woman won a cheer of approval by calling for the government to make the first move towards reconciliation.
"It's up to them to start talking," she said. "I don't know what we would do if the police came back again, but our demand is to make the factory move out of the village. We will not compromise on that."
Oooh, Destro, here is that uprising you were looking for.
I think the CCP hasn't responded because it odesn't want to look bad in its image. Rest assured, whoever hurt the 30something police will be arrested. Think of it this way -- it's like the protests in Shanghai - if they club one protestor and got it on someone's digital camera, it'd really hurt their image.
You can't hurt an image when nobody has any expectations of you anyway.
Here's one I'm sure you will find pleasing. :-)
Bless their little hearts!
bttt
"The communists are even worse than the Japanese," said one man.
Thanks for the post.
In China, that is a really strong accusation.
Basically, the villagers feel "liberated" from Chinese authorities. They feel elated. Now that they have a taste of freedom, it would be hard to get rid of. They also have support from neighboring areas, too. It is a serious situation.
I returned from China yesterday. There are serious problems the governemt is facing, but most pressing is the disenchantment amongst the country folk. They look at the changes in the cities and wonder why they haven't received the smae level of improvements. In the mean time most of the army is made up of country boys who have much stonger ties to the folks back home than to the party or their superiors - recipe for disaster. I was in Xi'an traveling with a US State Dept. official when the large protest at the Japanese embassy in Beijing broke out. He received a call from his office informing him of the situation (Japanese embassy near the US embassy - protest might boil over, etc.), and his coment to me was that the PRC government was pleased this sort of thing was taking place because it gives the Chinese the opportunity to express a little nationalist ferver and takes pressure off of the powers that be. As long as the people are occupied with this sort of red herring, they won't look too closely at their own situation.
"The communists are even worse than the Japanese,"
Wow, you are right. This is a very strong statement. A downright insult.
I wonder if the Chicoms will try to stir up external conflicts to distract from the problems at home.
They already are trying to do so. See: Taiwan
I expect they're forming up the Army to deal with this.
"his coment to me was that the PRC government was pleased this sort of thing was taking place because it gives the Chinese the opportunity to express a little nationalist ferver and takes pressure off of the powers that be. As long as the people are occupied with this sort of red herring, they won't look too closely at their own situation."
I agree with this statement -- also, if they were to clamp down on teh protest against the Japanese, they'd look too "weak" as well in front of the Chinese and they'd be overthrown.
However, most of thep roblems are in the countryside. The protests against the Japanese are in the cities. As long as it stays in the cities (other than some small scale riots in places like this news report), it wouldn't signal anything significant in terms of a democratic protest and wouldn't shift towards the CCP. Put it this way, if you live in a major citylike Beijing or Shanghai, your life is already 100 times better than those that live in the countryside - people revolt when they feel inequity, so the only places to watch for is in the rural area (but they also have less access to information such as internet, so the likelihood of an organized revolt is very remote).
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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