That's nonsense.
It seems like nonsense, I agree. But if you read the press reports about this, there is no other way to interpret it. And it's not just the press' biased viewpoint, I don't think.
The peasants are up in arms because they can't handle change. They don't want industrialization coming to their neighborhoods. They are angry because their land is being taken to build factories. They are upset about toxic waste dumps being placed in their areas. They are opposed to young Chinese settlers coming into their area from the big cities. They dislike the elite who come into town driving cars when they've only got bicycles. The list of grievances is long, but they all seem to stem from the fact that they don't like the changes that are being implemented by Beijing.
You'd think that they'd be happy to have the opportunities that capitalism brings, but apparently they are more envious because the benefits are not flowing down to them nearly as fast as they are flowing to the city dwellers.
A good example is the riot that was caused in one of the provinces because some party officials driving a car accidentally hit a youth on a bicycle. Apparently, there have been a number of incidents like that.