[Report by staff reporter: "Foreign Enterprises Withdraw Funds; Peasants Ask for the Return of Land Requisitioned but the Requests Are Refused; They Are Put Down by 3,000 Police Officers"]
On the eve of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo, a disturbance occurred in Fujin City, Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. The disturbance was triggered by a peasants' petition. Several hundred peasants asked for the return of land requisitioned but the requests were refused. On 29 April, they began protesting by using tractors and cars to block a highway and a railway line. In addition, they clashed with armed police with self-equipped weapons. Many police cars were damaged and more than 10 police officers and people were injured. As of yesterday, the incident has not yet subsided.
The local authorities defined the incident as a "riot." They mobilized and dispatched 3,000 military and police personnel to the scene to encircle and suppress the armed peasants. The place of the incident is Fujin City in Heilongjiang Province. Some foreign media outlets, including Deutsche Welle Radio and Hong Hong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, reported this incident yesterday. In has been learned that because of the seriousness of the incident, the local authorities have cut off all local communications and the internet and the cell phones do not work there. According to information heard earlier, the local authorities have mobilized 3,000 fully armed riot police from various localities and Fujin City is in state of siege. The Local Authorities Define the Incident as a "Riot"
It has been learned that Fujin City tried to attract overseas investment years ago. The local authorities requisitioned several tens of thousands mu of farmland and allowed investors from the Republic of Korea to develop the area. Later the investors from the Republic of Korea withdrew their funds. However, the authorities did not return the land back to the peasants or compensate for their losses. More then 40,000 peasants in the city have lost their land. Beginning from 2007, the peasants have adopted various methods to safeguard their rights. On one occasion, they declared autonomy. But they were suppressed mercilessly. Villagers who accepted interviews by were sentenced or arrested. On 29 April, several hundred peasants once again launched a large-scale demonstration. They used four-wheel motor vehicles, tractors, and other things to block a highway and a railway line which lead to the city in order to force the government to return their land requisitioned. The authorities dispatched armed police officers from Jiamusi and other places to suppress the peasants. The move irritated the villagers. Using hoes, tools, and other things as weapons, they began counterattacks and pushed over police cars. A violent conflict occurred between the two sides. At least five police car were destroyed in the incident. A riot police officer and many villagers were injured.
The incident alarmed the Ministry of Public Security and the local authorities defined the incident as a "riot." Several thousands of armed police officers still kept a sharp lookout in all areas of the city yesterday but the armed peasants had left one after another. No arrest has been made yet so far. Fujin is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jiamusi City in Heilongjiang Province. Fujin has an area of 8,227 square kilometres, with a population of 440,000. Its land is fertile. The city abounds with soybean, wheat, and other agricultural products.
Source: Apple Daily website, Hong Kong, in Chinese 2 May 10