Wukan siege: rebel Chinese villagers reject resolution talks


Wukan siege: rebel Chinese villagers reject resolution talks
An attempt by Chinese government officials to hold resolution talks with the rebel villagers of Wukan was snubbed on Sunday.

Residents attend a rally in Wukan, a fishing village in the southern province of Guangdong Photo: AFP/Getty ImagesBy Peter Simpson in Wukan

8:01PM GMT 18 Dec 2011
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Rattled Chinese Communist Party chiefs asked to enter the south coastal village to discuss an end to the week-long stand off with villagers but were refused.

Wukan residents are in open revolt after the death of their main anti-corruption protester, Xue Jinbo in police custody ten days ago.

"Leaders at a higher level of local government summoned me for talks. They said they would come to the village as they know I will not leave. But I told them that until they release Xue's body, and the four other villagers held in custody, and to give back our land, there can be no talks," said village representative Lin Zuluan.

For the first time since the death of Xue, the residents took a break from protesting.

Instead, Lin and other village representatives began planning a march on the nearby administrative town of Lufeng to demand back the body of Mr Xue and those in custody.

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Lin said he wanted the protest march to be peaceful – but Wukan has for months been the scene of occasionally violent protests over land seizures.

Many villagers gathered at the distribution centre to hand out sacks of donated rice to poorer villagers.

Riot police are blockading the main roads into the sprawling coastal settlement where resident numbers are put at between 12,000 to 20,000.

Many local businesses are shutting up shop as supplies run out but the village leaders have vowed to keep open the primary and junior schools to maintain a semblance of normality.

For the past week, this poor farming and fishing community has existed in what has effectively become Wukan Free State, and is enjoying self determination – a concept unknown to the vast majority the world's most populous, communist-run nation.

The village administration is now run from a temple to the villager's Goddess of the Sea, Mazu.

The government hall lies vacant with doors and gates open, and a few lights eerily burn from the empty police station; the former residents clearly fled in a hurry when their subjects finally turned on them.

The remaining power-vacuum has created an intoxicating air of steely optimism tinged with underlying fear.

The foreign media are feted throughout the community that has now become a commune under siege, with everyone pitching in to cook, fetch supplies along the dirt tracks, and man the jury-rigged barricades.

Despite the deceptive calm and good natured camaraderie, there is a lingering sense the fragile peace could explode any time soon.

The villagers are keen for the protection of the media to remain – but they are also anxious their rebellion is being wrongly portrayed as a movement to bring down the central government.

"We love the Party. We want the leaders in Beijing to come down and give us justice against the corrupt local officials," said villager Chen Liangshan, 60, echoing the sentiments of many.

But a decade of land grabs and corruption by local government officials in partnership with local businessmen caused resentment to spill over into full blown rebellion, the first on record.

The villagers' land grab complaint stretches two miles out into the open sea which provides half their livelihoods.

The Telegraph snuck out to sea with fisherman Wang Mingjie, 34, dodging the morning patrols of the marine police, to the vast oyster and mussel farms.

"These waters were sold by the local government to a rich local businessman who started shellfish farming.

"But his farm is now so vast and we cannot fish our traditional waters. They chase us off, " he said, sweeping a hand out over the acres of plastic floats.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... talks.html